Fairfax County BRT/U.S. 1 Widening Update

Today, Fairfax County's Department of Transportation provided an update on the status of the U.S. 1 Bus Rapid Transit Project and U.S. 1 Widening.

Richmond Highway Widening Update

They have been developing responses to public comments

Incorporated minor design adjustments

Meeting with property owners

Working on right of way plans

Conducting title research

Design changes

• Two way cycle tracks
• Bridge features modified
• Change from bridge to a pre-cast arch
• Section adjustments to accomodate larger trees
• Plaza designs at intersections
• Raised driveways along U.S. 1
• Reviewing viability of stormwater management facility enhancements

Schedule Revisions

• Project has been delayed one year
• Design approval in 2019 did not happen
• FONSI planned in Fall, 2019 - didn't happen
• ROW acquisition was supposed to start in Winter, 2019 and did not
• ROW/Utility Relocation seems to be taking longer-6 years instead of 3.5 years

Design approval was expected but did not

• Fairfax County has not approved design
• Ongoing design features need to be resolved (stuff above) along with construction of BRT project with this
• Approval was submitted in 11/19 but delayed due to a Title VI complaint that was initiated
• VDOT did receive conditional design approval except for the Little Hunting Creek Underpass

Montclair Traffic Calming Feedback Needed!

Montclair Community in Dumfries, VA

Earlier this week, Prince William County Department of Transportation proposed three alternatives for changes to the Waterway-Silvan Glen intersection in Montclair. Delegate Elizabeth Guzman and I are bringing these options to the community to invite your feedback. Please review the information from PWCDOT below and complete the form HERE or at the bottom of this blog post so you can make your voice heard!

Waterway suffers from increased traffic volumes and speeding due to electronic way-finding services such as Google Maps and Waze. When traffic backs up on Minnieville and Dumfries Road, it spills into neighborhood streets like Cardinal Drive and Waterway. While I have introduced legislation to allow localities to designate certain streets to be excluded from electronic routing registries, they have not passed committee. The map below shows data gathered by VDOT regarding average traffic volumes and speeds.

Increased speed and volume have become a major concern at Waterway and Silvan Glen because of children entering and leaving Henderson Elementary School. Many parents whose children live close enough to walk are concerned for their children's safety when crossing Waterway to get to school.

PWCDOT has proposed the proposals on the left. County staff are now reviewing these proposals with school and police staff, finalizing the analysis, and will make a recommendation to VDOT after everything is completed.  The proposal will also be presented to the Montclair Homeowners Association for feedback and endorsement. 

The first proposal does away with the southern cross walk and creates an area for respite on the median in the middle of Waterway. It would also add a streetlight on the northeast corner.

The second proposal would retain the southern crosswalk but also move the northern crosswalk up on to the median and add a streetlight to improve visibility.

We need feedback from Montclair residents to forward to VDOT regarding the proposal.  Every comment completed on the form below will be forwarded to VDOT.

Ultimately, speeding poses the greatest risk to safety.  Pole mounted speed indicators have proven effective at lowering speeds on neighborhood roads. As shown on the right, Prince William County is also proposing to add one to the north of this intersection.

Please provide your feedback below.

VDOT's Response on January 20 Storm Preparation

On January 20, 2016 (before the major storm), a small storm brought Northern Virginia's evening rush hour to a halt.  I received a series of emails from constituents stuck on U.S. 1 whose 30 minutes commutes turned into three hours.

Below is correspondence I wrote to VDOT and VDOT's response.  Please let me know if you have any feedback!

Surovell-Cuervo Correspondence Regarding January 2016 Weather

Weekly Column: Major Paving Operations Set to Start this Summer in 44th District

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of May 9, 2015.

Major Paving Operations Set to Start this Summer in 44^th District

As the weather warms and we approach the summer, it also means that we are approaching the road mowing and paving season in Northern Virginia, and good news is coming for the 44^th District.

From 1987 to 2013, the General Assembly refused to raise Virginia’s $0.17/gallon gas tax to even keep up with inflation.  As salaries, the cost of materials, and infrastructure needs all increased, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) had to prioritize funds for other critical maintenance needs.  As a result, grass mowing was massively limited, primary and interstate maintenance was prioritized and secondary road paving was limited.  Over 70% of secondary roads in Northern Virginia were rated to have substandard pavement quality (secondary roads are roads numbered over 600).

Over the last six years I have been in office, I have consistently received complaints about pavement quality – especially on major secondary arteries like Fort Hunt Road and Sherwood Hall Lane.

February, 2015 Winter Storm Information

Weather Underground Forecast as of 10:20 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, from 4 p.m. Monday February 16th to noon on February 17th for Northern Virginia. They expect the storm to dump 4 or more inches of snow and sleet on the Mount Vernon area. Snowfall is expected to begin on Monday afternoon and could become heavy at times.

I have cut and pasted an excerpt from the Weather Underground's forecast as of 10:20 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15 on the right.  You can click on it to enlarge.

Although I am in Richmond for the General Assembly Session and we will remain in session during the storm, my staff will be available to deal with problems and I will continue to post updates about outages and other information as it is available. 

The following information should help you prepare for the storm:

New Sherwood Hall Lane Bike Lanes

While I was on vacation, VDOT finishing the paving operations on Sherwood Hall Lane.

The striping is still in progress, but the new bike lanes are on the ground.  VDOT still has to pain bike lane symbols in the ground, a few stripes here and there, and install signage, but they are now on the ground and usable.

I took them for a test spin with my new GoPro camera on Sunday, August 10, 2014 around 11:30 a.m.  You can see my ride a double speed below.

Multimodal improvements are critical to get more cars off the road.  It is also hoped that by restricting lane size, this will help to lower speeds and illegal passing on Sherwood Hall Lane which has become a real problem with increased cut through traffic. 

These improvements were the result of two public hearings and significant public input.   These lanes will eventually link into to a multiuse path on U.S. 1 and other bike lanes as U.S. 1 is redone, properties are redeveloped and road repaved.

VDOT Unveils Extended U.S. 1 Merge Lane for I-495 Express Lanes

Last month, I posted that VDOT had agreed to extend the merge lanes for all traffic from U.S. 1 onto the Beltway's southbound/eastbound express lanes after one of my constituents noticed the unsafe merging conditions.

The interchange is used by many 44th District residents and City of Alexandria residents on a daily basis.

A diagram of the new lane design is attached and it was implemented on July 23.  Let me know if you have any feedback!

I-495/U.S. 1 Express Lane Ramp Restriping

2014 Paving Projects in 44th District

Last year, I raised an issue with the Virginia Department of Transportation about the lack of paving projects in the 44th District on some of the lists I was seeing.

This year, VDOT provided me with a map showing all paving projects in our part of the County.  I was glad to see a large increase in the number of projects.  If you have any questions or would like to suggest some roads that are in dire need, feel free to shoot me a note at scottsurovell@gmail.com.

2014 Paving Projects in the 44th District

2014 Repaving Projects in the 44th District

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2014 Paving Project List
Street	Length
Sherwood Hall Ln	1.73
Fort Hunt Rd	1.488
Fort Hunt Rd	2.27
Paul Spring Rd	0.446
Bedford Ln	0.05
Stafford Rd	0.29
Rippon Rd	0.37
Drury Rd	0.12
Boswell Ave	0.304
Hollindale Rd	0.3
Whiteoaks Dr	0.66
Radcliffe Dr/Rollins Dr	0.37
Roanoke Dr	0.13
Duke Dr	0.39
Dartmouth Dr	0.24
Colgate Dr	0.32
Rollins Dr/Westgrove Blvd	0.76
Mary Baldwin Dr	0.35
University Dr/Canterbury Ln	0.25
Canterbury Ln	0.14
Davis St/Oberlin Dr	0.26
Smithway Dr	0.13
Westhampton Dr	0.17
Temple Ct	0.05
Memorial St	0.346
Groveton St	0.367
E Lee Ave	0.195
E Side Dr	0.273
Schelhorn Rd	0.47
Frances Dr	0.436
Elm Dr	0.03
Covertry Rd	0.29
Woodlawn Ln	0.07
Rebecca Dr	0.716
Stone Hedge Dr	0.15
Devonshire Rd	0.31
Glasgow Rd	0.13
Memorial Heights Dr	0.222
Marlan Dr	0.11
Ridgecrest Dr/Park Terrace Dr	1.73
Rita Ct	0.05
Davenport St	0.065
Brentwood Pl	0.087
Daphne Ln	0.08
Bluebill Ln	0.276
Hollindale Ct	0.04
Morningside Ln	0.452
Evening Ln	0.17
Earldale Ct	0.13
Midday Ln	0.61
Daybreak Ct	0.036
Custis St	0.32
Courtland Rd	0.57
Shannon Ct	0.05
Leric Ln	0.05
Lida Ct	0.05
Traies Ct	0.18
Jube Ct	0.09
Shiver Dr	0.66
Mason Hill Dr	0.84
Windmill Ln	0.08
Kimbro St	0.17
Maid Marian Ct	0.07
Saville Ct	0.05
Cheshire Ln	0.09
Delafield Pl	0.13

44th District 2014 Paving Requests

After analyzing the results of my 2014 Constituent Survey, I have submitted all of my constituent paving requests to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The big winners were Fort Hunt Road, U.S. 1, Old Mill, and Sherwood Hall Lane.  You can read the full list below.

44th District VDOT Paving Requests

WINTER STORM UPDATE

The impending storm is supposed to affect Northern Virginia beginning Wednesday night, bringing a dangerous combination of snow and ice.

I will update information here as it becomes available.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch, from 7 p.m. February 12th to 10 p.m. February 13 for Northern Virginia. They expect the storm to dump 5 or more inches of snow and sleet on the Mount Vernon area. Snowfall is expected to begin on Wednesday evening and could become heavy at times. The NWS also forcasts winds in excess of 15-25 mph, with gusts around 35 mph.

The following information should help you prepare for the storm:

Paving of Fort Hunt Road Begins!

I was driving home from a meeting around midnight tonight when I came up Sherwood Hall Lane up to Fort Hunt Road.  It looked like a spaceship had landed so I got out to look around.  I blogged about the coming operation two weeks ago:

The Dixie Pig: The Paving of Fort Hunt Road to Begin Soon (Sept. 28, 2011)

The paving company had milled the pavement off the entire intersection in both direction, but was only working over the northbound lanes so that traffic could pass.  The entire road was devoid of traffic, but it was also quite busy with spotlights and police emergency lights activated. 

There were no spectators (except me). 

The Fairfax County Police controlled the main intersection.  They also had cars stationed at three different approaches.  Officer Patton told me how he does this two or three times per week when he's not at the Northern Virginia Police Academy.  It's a very specialized crew. 

The paving company was providing a guidecar for all traffic to get through.  It was very slow - not everyone coming up Sherwood Hall Lane was going the same direction. 

There were probably ten six or seven dump trucks waiting for milled roadway or waiting to supply asphalt to the paving machines.  The steam rollers were chugging along with the painting crew running right behind.

The paving of Fort Hunt Road is long overdue and has been delayed for years because of the lack of state funding.  It's great to finally see some progress.

UPDATED: Fort Hunt Road Repaving to Start Soon!

The condition of Fort Hunt Road has been pretty abysmal for the last couple years - especially in front of Paul Spring Retirement Home.  I have written several articles where I call it "rumble strips."

According to VDOT, twenty-five percent of all lane miles in Fairfax County have deficient pavement quality and that number is growing due to cuts in maintenance funding due to the lack of transportation revenue.

Last year, Richmond Highway was finally paved in Fall, 2010 after the pavement became incredibly pockmarked.

The good news is that repaving will start no sooner than this week and no later than October 7. 

Repaving will start from Quander Road to Sherwood Hall Lane as shown at the right.  Then, they will pave from Richmond Highway to Hunting Cove Place.

We are finally getting some attention. 

***UPDATED 9/29/11***

Here is an email I received from VDOT this afternoon.

Garrett asked that I respond to your request in regards to the projected paving schedule for Fort Hunt Road. The following sections are tentatively scheduled for paving on this year’s schedule between 10/16/11 – 10/31/11.   

Quander to Sherwood Hall Lane (both North and South bound lanes) 

Hunting Cove Place to: Woodnut Road (North bound lane only)  

Woodmont Road to Rte. 1 (North bound lane only)  

Rte 1 Richmond Hwy to: Woodmont Road (South bound lane only)  

These dates may be subject to change due to weather, so we appreciate your patience. The streets listed above are in the proposed “order” of paving that the contractor has provided us with.

Tell the State to Improve U.S. 1

The following column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette, Mount Vernon Voice, and Patch.com on May 7, 2011:

Virginia has announced the draft transportation Six-Year Improvement Plan, a plan that includes the $34 million long-delayed and long-needed widening of Telegraph Road , but there is not a single project or dollar listed in the 22306, 22307, 22308 or 22309 zip codes. Route 1 was left off the list yet again.

Last week, I was one of two state legislators who spoke at the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s (CTB) public hearing on the draft plan. (You can watch video of my comments on my blog, The Dixie Pig at scottsurovell.blogspot.com.)

I made several points. First, I thanked the McDonnell Administration for agreeing to fund the U.S. 1 Transit Study after a six-year wait. This is the first legally-required step to improve U.S. 1. However, none of the legally-required steps after that study were included in the Six-Year Improvement Plan at all.

The Route 1 Transit Study will take three years to complete. A Route 1 Centerline Study must also be completed to confirm the center line of the road. That process involves public hearings and environmental reviews.

Once these two studies are done, VDOT can do preliminary engineering and make right-of-way purchases. Then construction can start. VDOT has neither planned or budgeted for any of these steps.

I argued to the CTB that while there are dozens of million-dollar projects scheduled in the northern and western parts of Fairfax County, the eastern part of Fairfaxs has not and still will not be receiving infrastructure investments necessary to sustain our quality of life, not even a small study.

CTB is accepting public comments until May 27. I am gathering petition signatures asking the Commonwealth Transportation Board to add the Route 1 Centerline Study, preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition to the current Six-Year Improvement Plan. Please take two minutes and sign the petition online at www.bit.ly/route1petition.

I also encourage you to write directly to the Board. You can find information on the petition site or my blog The Dixie Pig (http://scottsurovell.blogspot.com/) as well.

Maintenance, Mowing Lag
By law, regular revenues in the Transportation Trust Fund are distributed to administrative costs first, maintenance second and construction last. The state gas tax is levied in pennies per gallon. As cars have become more efficient and gas prices have risen, people are using less gas per mile and generating less revenue per miles driven.

Plus, while today’s gas tax ($0.175/gal.) is still the same as when I was a sophomore at West Potomac High School in 1987 and gas cost $0.99/gal., now it's almost $4.00 and the cost of concrete, steel, asphalt and labor has gone up. Maintenance has completely consumed the highway construction budget.

Secondary roads are the ones numbered 600 and higher. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) allocates funds to localities every year to construct secondary road improvements. Fairfax County’s secondary road allocation went from $28 million two years ago to $1,800 last year and $0 – zero -- this year. It will remain $0 into the future unless there is a new infusion of revenues. Additionally, road maintenance is being deferred. This includes paving, which is why Fort Hunt Road resembles rumble strips in some patches. Today, there are 2,500 and growing lane miles of substandard secondary roads in Fairfax County.

Spring is here, it’s been raining, and road medians are starting to resemble prairies. Because of funding shortfalls, VDOT has laid off 30 percent of its employees in the last three years and has cut way back on mowing.

One neighborhood association in Stratford contacted me asking to take over maintenance of a right-of-way. VDOT will agree to allow organizations to maintain medians if certain procedures are followed and a formal contract is signed. If your local association would like to look into this, please contact my office and we can connect you with VDOT.

It is an honor to be your state delegate in Richmond.

New Six Year VDOT Plan Skips Route 1

In Virginia, the projects to be constructed are decided by the Commonwealth Transportation Board or the CTB. The CTB includes one member from each of Virginia's 10 transportation districts, plus four at-large members and a few others. The construction schedule is contained in something called the Six Year Improvement Program or the SYIP.

Over the last few years, the CTB has been taking projects off the SYIP because of declining revenues. However, this past session, the legislator approved $3.4 billion in new spending by accelerating planned bond sales. The CTB is now advertising a new proposed SYIP.

You can view a presentation on the new plan here or search for projects in the SYIP by clicking here. You can search by zip code or road.

Tonight, I gave public testimony which you can watch my comments or read (what I meant to say) by clicking below:

Delegate Scott Surovell's Public Comments Regarding Draft Six Year Improvement Program

VDOT to Reconsider Montebello Signalization

Last June, several constituents in Montebello contacted me with concerns about the reconfiguration of signalization of the stop light at Mount Eagle Drive and U.S. 1 after the Holiday Inn Express was opened. The location is below:


View Larger Map

The new configuration requires a wait before someone can turn onto Mount Eagle Drive and has substantially increased the time it takes to access the property and traffic given that over 1,000 people live there.

Several people in the Montebello community, my office, and Supervisor Gerry Hyland's office contacted VDOT who has now decided to reconsider their decision and further study the intersection to ascertain whether the old configuration presents a danger to motorists. VDOT's letter is below.

9-10 VDOT Letter Re: US 1-Montebello Intersection

I am glad they are open to considering changing their position given the community's position. If anyone in Montebello has any comments they should send them to VDOT during the study period at:

VDOT
Northern Virginia District Office
14685 Avion Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151-1104