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TextDulles Toll Road Slip Ramps to Open Oct. 27
Office of Public Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935, FAX 703-324-2010
Oct. 24, 2003
Dulles Toll Road Slip Ramps to Open Oct. 27
On Monday, Oct. 27, at 12:15 p.m. a ceremony will
take place at the Reston East @ Wiehle Avenue Commuter Lot located at
1860 Wiehle Avenue near the intersection of Wiehle Avenue and Sunset
Hills Road. The ceremony will celebrate the opening of two new slip ramps
on the Dulles Access and Dulles Toll Roads. The slip ramps are located on
the Dulles Toll Road just east of Hunter Mill Road, one in the eastbound
lanes and the other in the westbound lanes. The slip ramps employ new
gate-arm technology, and offer access to the Dulles Access Road for
FAIRFAX CONNECTOR buses. Funding for the slip ramp project was provided
with $4.5 million of federal and county general obligation bond funds and
$3.9 million of VDOT – Dulles Toll Road project funds.
Governor Mark Warner will be on hand Monday with various public
officials including the Hunter Mill District supervisor and the chairman
of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to celebrate the opening of
the new slip ramps. Members of the community are welcome to attend the
ceremony which will feature a ribbon-cutting to commemorate the opening
of the ramps.
Using the slip ramps, FAIRFAX CONNECTOR buses can by-pass rush-hour
traffic on the Dulles Toll Road and transport passengers to and from the
West Falls Church Metrorail Station in minutes. The new gate-arm
technology allows buses to pass through the ramps at 55 mph, to save
travel time for bus riders. In addition to faster travel times, using the
Dulles Access Road enhances schedule reliability by avoiding delays
caused by congestion on the Dulles Toll Road and at the Main Toll Plaza.
The slip ramps also may reduce the cost of adding FAIRFAX CONNECTOR buses
in order to maintain service levels that become degraded as congestion
and travel times increase over time.
The new automated slip ramps relieve State Police of the responsibility
of having to open and close the gates (as they did on the old manual
ramps) and enforce their usage. The new ramps will be available for use
24 hours a day, seven days a week, whereas the old manually-operated
gates were open only during weekday rush hours. Police, fire and rescue
vehicles also will be able to use the ramps to respond to emergency
situations.
For more information about the ceremony or slip ramps, call the Fairfax
County Department of Transportation at 703-324-1100, TTY 703-324-1102.
For FAIRFAX CONNECTOR bus information, call 703-339-7200, TTY
703-339-1608, or visit the Web site at www.fairfaxconnector.com.
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