Public comment sought on revised plan for Braddock Road improvements
Fairfax County has revised its plans for the Braddock Road multimodal transportation improvement project and cut the cost from $74 million to $48 million for phase 1.
The county applied for funding for the project twice and was rejected twice, Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw said at a virtual community meeting Aug. 3. “There is no point in continuing to apply.” The Fairfax County Department of Transportation revised and simplified the project and divided it into two phases to make it more competitive.
The revisions address two main intersections: Wakefield Chapel Road/Danbury Forest Drive and Port Royal Road/Interstate 495 ramps.
The original project was developed with input from a community task force. The final study was issued in May 2018.
It involved a series of intersection improvements between Guinea Road and Ravensworth Road, a shared bicycle and pedestrian trail along both sides of Braddock Road, and two pedestrian overpasses.
Related story: Final plan for Braddock Road improvements released
The purpose of the improvements is to improve traffic flow without widening Braddock Road and without causing backups on side streets. Providing better pedestrian and bike trails is expected to down on short car trips to shopping centers.
Funding applications were rejected for Virginia’s Smart Scale program and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
FCDOT now plans to apply for Smart Scale funding just for Phase 1 this month. The application is due Aug. 17.
FCDOT encourages local residents to submit feedback by Aug. 10. Submit comments here or through an online survey.
Phase 1 encompasses Ravensworth Road to Southampton Drive. Phase 2 covers Southampton Drive to Humphries Drive and improvements on Rolling Road and Burke Lake Road. The preliminary design for both phases will be done concurrently.
The design changes proposed by VDOT for the Danbury Forest/Wakefield Chapel Road intersection “will significantly improve our chances to get funding,” said Michael Guarino, chief of the capital projects section at FCDOT.
Related story: Public comment sought on transportation projects
The original design called for a “conventional four-leg intersection” with two left-turn lines on Wakefield Chapel and Danbury Forest, which would have required those roads to be widened.
The new design would prohibit left turns from Danbury Forest onto Braddock. Drivers would instead, turn right and make a U-turn. [Correction: Left turns would not be prohibited from Wakefield Chapel to Braddock, as previously reported.]
There would be three signals coordinating traffic at those intersections.
This design would be “significantly more efficient,” Guarino said. It would reduce “crossing conflict points,” where vehicles cross lanes or merge, by more than 50 percent. It also would reduce tree loss and improve pedestrian crossings. A proposed bridge over Long Branch Creek would be eliminated.
The new design would also retain access to Port Royal Road from the beltway exit ramp. There would be a shared right/through lane on Braddock Road eastbound, starting after Port Royal Road, leading to I-495 north and I-495 south. There would be a signal on Braddock for drivers on I-495 southbound and heading east on Braddock.
Pedestrian and bicycle trails would also be considered in Phase 1, along with pedestrian crossings at all signalized intersections, and stairs and ramps to improve access from Braddock Road to the underpass at Accotink Creek.
Proposed pedestrian overpasses at Wakefield Chapel and Danbury Forest and at the Kings Park Shopping Center will be studied as part of Phase 2.
If the project is funded, FCDOT and VDOT would hold community information meetings in spring 2021. There would be a public hearing in spring 2022.
The final design would be developed during fall 2022 through the winter of 2023-24. Utility relocation would be done from early 2025 to spring 2027. Construction would start in early 2025 and would be completed in spring 2027.
Upgraded bike trails are a must. Some of the existing legs of the trail on Braddock Road either do not exist or are in poor shape and present a danger to cyclists.
Hard to believe, in fact shameful, that in a county as rich as Fairfax we are going to settle for a badly designed option just to save money. The conventional 4 way intersection at Braddock and Danbury is the reasonable option that does not add more lights and confusion to a major arterial highway in the county. Also this 'plan' and recent major beltway exit renovations do not provide for pedestrian crossing the beltway at Braddock Rd., again, almost unbelieveable.
Yep, you get what you pay for. Building half baked infrastructure is incredibly short sighted and wasteful.
I can't believe they would end left turns from Wakefield Chapel to Braddock – that makes no sense for two busy roads.
If the first rule is "do no harm" then this plan fails miserably. It is more a desperate attempt to do something than an attempt to do anything right.
If you stop left turns from Wakefield Chapel to Braddock Rd, how are people supposed to get to the Beltway, especially during Rush Hour? Take a right and then try to make a u-turn? It won't work. Leaving it as is is a better plan than what is proposed.
You know Wakefield goes North to LRT too right?
Left turn from Wakefield Chapel to Braddock Road has to remain to avoid massive traffic backup and probable accidents on both roads during rush hour traffic. Because of the corona situation with significantly reduced traffic pattern evaluation can not be made a the present time.
EVERYONE here should fill out the survey! PLEASE!!!
–kda
Eliminate the left turn from eastbound Braddock onto Ravensworth. These people should be going up to Little River Turnpike instead of clogging up Braddock Road.
Eliminating the left turn from Wakefield Chapel Rd. is punishing for the local residents AND for the Nova Community College traffic, which is already bad.
Unless there's a specific reason to, I imagine Nova students head North, not South. I don't see how this is "punishing." just go the other way. I have the same issue getting out of my neighborhood, where it's shorter to head south to Braddock but I sit at a light for 5 minutes. Or I can go North to get on 495 and bypass a light. Big deal.
PLEASE do not eliminate left turn from Wakefield onto Braddock…good gracious…HUGE traffic problems will follow…
They are NOT eliminating the left turn from Wakefield to Braddock. They are eliminating the left turn from Danbury Forest to Braddock.
There will be a U turn so people can go west on Braddock from Danbury. And Ravensworth has a dedicated left turn lane so it doesn't "back up" Braddock. I am happier that Accotink Creek will not be culverted there. I do hope they can get pedestrian crossings at each intersection though.
The panhandlers are sure going to love those overpasses. Ridiculous. And unsafe.