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TextMoving Through the Braddock District
Traffic Slowing on Wakefield Chapel Road
Due to concerns about increased traffic volume and speed along Wakefield
Chapel Road since the beginning of the HOT Lanes construction, on April
29, approximately 30 residents from communities along the Wakefield
Chapel Road corridor attended a meeting held by Supervisor Cook. The
meeting informed the communities of options available for traffic
“slowing” along this busy thoroughfare.
The presentation, given by Hari Sripathi, Traffic Engineer for VDOT, and
David Metcalf of Virginia MegaProjects, offered two striping alternatives
that would make the road feel narrower to traffic passing through, while
still allowing for residents who live along Wakefield Chapel Road to park
in front of their homes. Alternative 1 allowed for a middle two way turn
lane, while Alternative 2 offered enhanced parking with bike-able lanes.
Both options included signage advising of additional fines for speeding,
as well as the use of speed radar devices.
The residents of the surrounding communities came to the meeting with
concerns about line of sight and safety issues when turning onto
Wakefield Chapel Road, as well as questions about the possibility of all
way stops at the intersections of Queen Elizabeth and Braeburn. They also
asked about the possibility of marked crosswalks at certain
intersections, which VDOT agreed to consider.
While no formal vote was taken, a straw poll taken by Supervisor Cook
indicated that the majority of those attending were more open to
Alternative 2. VDOT will be taking the input given from residents into
consideration when coming up with its final proposal. The goal is to have
a final striping plan developed by June of 2010, and to eradicate the old
striping and add the new in July of 2010.
If you have any questions about the meeting or the proposed
alternatives, please feel free to call our office, and Ann Sharp or
Rosemary Ryan will be able to assist you.
Gear up for Bike to Work Day, May 21
Many in Fairfax County will celebrate Bike to Work Day on Friday, May
21, by pedaling to workplaces throughout the county. This yearly
tradition is supported by the Fairfax Board of Supervisors as a way to
encourage residents to participate in an effective means to improve air
quality, reduce traffic and conserve energy.
Meet up with neighbors and coworkers at one of the 35 pit stops
throughout the region. Of those, one will be at the Burke VRE Station
(open 6:30-8:30 a.m.) in Braddock and another will be at Van Dyck Park
(open 6:30-9:30 a.m.) in Fairfax City. At each pit stop there will be a
raffle, prizes, food, drink and more at all pit stops throughout the
region.
Bike to Work Day is a FREE event and open to all area commuters. Free
T-shirts will available for the first 8.500 registrants who are in
attendance at the pit stop they registered for.
To register, go to http://waba.org/events/btwd/pitstops.php or call
202-518-0524.
Demolition of Little River Turnpike Bridge Expected to last 12 Weeks
As part of the construction of the I-495 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes,
every bridge and overpass within the work zone area (Braddock Road to
just north of the Dulles Toll Road) over the Beltway will be demolished
and rebuilt. Demolition of the westbound portion of the Little River
Turnpike/I-495 Bridge is scheduled to begin at the end of April and is
expected to last 12 weeks.
In order to safely remove the Little River Turnpike bridges, demolition
will occur at night (9:30 p.m. – 5:00 a.m.) and will require multiple
lane closures in both directions on I-495 just before the Little River
Turnpike interchange. Exit ramps to/from Little River turnpike will also
be impacted as demolition continues.
Recently, demolition started on the existing westbound bridge, to be
followed by the eastbound bridge. The work is expected to take 6 weeks to
demolish each bridge for a total of 12 weeks. While bridge demolition
work can create significant noise, VDOT will try to complete the
demolition as soon as possible to minimize impacts to the
community.
Little River Turnpike at I-495 will remain open during the entire
construction of the Capital Beltway HOT Lanes project. During this second
phase of bridge construction, traffic on Little River Turnpike has been
shifted to the newly construction bridge. Three eastbound lanes and two
westbound lanes will be maintained on the bridge over I-495. With the
absence of a westbound merge lane, motorists exiting off I-495 north to
Little River Turnpike westbound will have to yield before entering the
westbound lanes on Little River Turnpike. This traffic shift will be in
place for approximately 18 months.
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