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TextMoving Through the Braddock District: A Look at Transportation Issues Impacting our Community
Summer paving Projects on Guinea, Olley, Steamboat Landing
Every summer the Fairfax Maintenance Section of the
Virginia Department of Transportation begins its annual process of
repaving part of the 9,500 “lane miles” of roads throughout Fairfax
County for which it is responsible. Of those roads, about 6,000 lane
miles are on residential streets.
A lane mile is measured by taking the length of the road
and multiplying it by the number of lanes. Thus, a segment of
Braddock Road that was one mile long, but had four lanes would yield four
“lane miles” of paving. Most roads require one of five categories
of maintenance work: ordinary maintenance (pothole and ditch repair,
mowing); resurfacing; restoration; rehabilitation; or
reconstruction.
In selecting roads for resurfacing, VDOT assumes a 10 year
maintenance life cycle. Budget reductions allow VDOT to repave only
about 200 of the 950 miles of repaving it should undertake to keep
current. As a result VDOT must prioritize which roads to
resurface.
This year, VDOT will pave three roads in the Braddock
District:
Guinea Road, from Braddock Road to Twinbrook Road (July
23-August 24) and Olley Lane, from Braddock Road to Little River Turnpike
(September 16-October 15)
Both of these roads have received noise waivers from
Fairfax County to allow night time paving only. This is to ensure
that daytime traffic congestion is minimized. No use of a
jackhammer is permitted. In addition, daytime paving will occur on
Steamboat Landing Lane from Fred Oaks Road to Eagle Landing Road (October
15-23).
If you have roads that should be submitted for
consideration for next year, please let me know.
HOT Lanes Project Temporarily Halted, Now Reopened
On June 19, my office became aware that a complaint had
been lodged with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
(DCR) against the Capital Beltway HOT Lanes Project. This complaint
identified continuing failures of the Sediment and Erosion Controls
protecting Accotink Creek between Little River Turnpike and Braddock
Road. I was also advised that both DCR and VDOT had inspected the
controls in other areas of the project and found three sites to be
deficient. On June 19, work at three of four HOT Lane’s
construction sites, including the area around Accotink, were suspended by
VDOT.
VDOT intends to implement new stormwater management tools
to upgrade protection during rain events, including use of super silt
fences, deeper sediment traps, additional check dams and drains,
installation of additional riprap along the edge of impacted streams and
use of temporary diversion dikes. VDOT also plans to launch a new
“Field Environmental Action Team (FEAT)” to oversee compliance and
protection. All three sites have now been re-inspected and
reopened. The letters from VDOT are posted on my website at
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/braddock/.
I hope that any citizen who becomes aware of a stormwater
problem caused by the HOT Lanes project will let me know. We have
set up lines of communication with the Megaproject Team and will notify
them immediately of any problem.
State Money for Construction and Maintenance Lacking
Transportation infrastructure in Fairfax County is
primarily provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
which owns, constructs, maintains and operates nearly all county
roads. In recent months, the Board has received increasingly grim
news about cuts to the Six Year Improvement Program for Primary and
Interstate Roads. On June 1, the Board was also advised that
funding allocations between 2010 and 2015 for secondary roads would drop
from $28 million to $225,000 annually. We later learned that all funding
would be eliminated.
Fairfax County will continue to provide local funds for
some projects, which come from three major sources: 1) General
obligation road bonds approved by voters in November 2004 and 2007 in the
amount of $110 million. 2) County Funds 304 and 124, which are used for
land acquisition, design and construction.
For FY 2010, the Board approved $32.1 million for road and
transit projects supported by a Commercial and Industrial (C&I) real
estate tax of 11 cents. These Funds also provide for Spot
Improvements to relieve bottlenecks, extend turn lanes, and build
sidewalks and trails; 3) a FY2010 Revenue Bond of $50 million to be
issued through the Economic Development Authority for which debt service
will come through the C&I tax. Other transportation projects
such as Dulles Rail are funded through Special Tax Districts, and paid
for by landowners.
Like my Board colleagues, I am gravely concerned about the
loss of state construction funding and the severe reductions in state
money available for maintenance of existing roads and
rights-of-way. In the coming months I hope to have a dialogue with
you about whether the county should consider taking over local roads, and
what the cost implications would be.
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