VDOT recommends improvements for key intersections on Braddock Road
The Virginia Department of Transportation has come up with recommendations for improvements to three critical intersections on Braddock Road.
Those proposals, announced at a community meeting Nov. 29, are part of the Braddock Road Multimodal Project, which is aimed at reducing traffic flow and making the corridor safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
In May 2021, Virginia approved full funding – about $74 million – under the Smart Scale program for Phase 1, covering 3.2 miles between Ravensworth Road and Southampton Drive in Annandale.
Fairfax County has received planning funds for Phase 2, which extends to just beyond Guinea Road, and is still seeking funds for design and construction.
A multimodal corridor
Since discussions on improving Braddock Road started in 2014, there have been many dozens of meetings and workshops involving a community task force and neighborhood associations.
The original idea involved widening Braddock Road. But based on community opinion, the goal was changed to creating a multimodal corridor with intersection improvements and shared-use paths for pedestrians and bicyclists on both sides of Braddock.
With no improvements, VDOT estimates that by 2045, there will be a 30 percent increase in average intersection delay, a 20 percent increase in travel time along the corridor, and reduced transit reliability due to congestion, said Project Manager W. Calvin Britt.
VDOT staff outlined the base design and two alternative options for each of the three critical intersections in Phase 1.
For Rolling Road, they recommend the base option, which includes these components:
- New signalized crosswalks would be added on Braddock Road and Rolling Road.
- Rolling Road would be widened to add an exclusive right-turn lane onto Braddock Road.
- A bump out on Braddock would enhance safety and reduce the crossing distance.
- Bus stops would be relocated.
An evaluation of the three options for Rolling Road found the base option scored the highest on multi-operations, safety, cost, right-of-way impacts, environmental impacts, and community impacts.
Pedestrian overpass
VDOT staff recommends option 1 for the Burke Lake Road intersection, which calls for these improvements:
- Right in/right out access to Kings Park Shopping Center from Braddock Road.
- Triple right turn lanes on Burke Lake Road onto eastbound Braddock.
- The signal would be removed at Kings Park Drive and that intersection would become right in/right out only.
That option also includes a shared-use pedestrian overpass on Braddock Road at the Kings Park Shopping Center. However, that facility was originally proposed when there was a plan for a commuter garage at the shopping center. Now, VDOT questions whether it’s worth the $8 million cost.
It would take about four minutes to cross Braddock on the overpass, due to the 400-foot ramps on both sides, while using the crosswalk would take up to three and a half minutes.
A poll during the meeting found 51 percent of attendees want the overpass, about a quarter of attendees don’t want it, and the rest were undecided.
U-turns recommended
For the third critical intersection, Danbury Forest Drive/Wakefield Chapel Road, VDOT supports the base option:
- Eastbound drivers on Braddock Road would no longer be able to make left turns onto Wakefield Chapel. Instead, they would have to continue on Braddock and make a U-turn at a new signal between Wakefield Chapel and Glen Park Road.
- The same concept would apply to westbound Braddock Road traffic, with a new signal at Danbury Forest Drive.
According to VDOT, the U-turn concept, which would be used at other intersections on Braddock Road, would reduce travel time throughout the corridor by 35 percent, reduce the number and severity of crashes, and discourage cut-through traffic in neighborhoods.
Although Ravensworth Road isn’t one of the three critical intersections, VDOT is considering extending the left turn lane for eastbound traffic turning onto Ravensworth and adding a second eastbound left turn lane.
The Ravensworth intersection would be widened and a shared-use path would extend to the sidewalk in front of Ravensworth Baptist Church.
In response to concerns raised at previous community meetings, Britt said VDOT will try to minimize tree loss along Braddock Road.
VDOT hopes to have a hearing on the project design in spring 2023 for phases 1 and 2 and gain approval in summer 2023. Right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation for phase 1 would occur from spring 2025 to fall 2026. Construction of phase 1 would start in fall 2028.
Members of the public can submit comments online on the Braddock Road project or send an email to [email protected].
How is this multimodal? All of the selected options by VDOT are foremost in the interest of automobile traffic flow at these intersections. There is little regard to multimodal use, which according to this article was shown to be preferred by community members. A pedestrian walkway at Kings Park Shopping Center and a “shared-use path” at Ravensworth Road doesn’t cut it.
All of these solutions are temporary fixes. There is no way in hell that VDOT can truly believe that these proposals will solve their anticipated 20% increase in travel time in the long run. It’s just playing whack-a-mole with funding.
We need holistic, long lasting solutions here. Not “triple right turn lane”, band-aid nonsense.
Build rapid transit in Fairfax County. Build transit-oriented development in Fairfax County.
The hypothesized multimodal aspect of this appears to be the shared use hard surface paths planned for both sides of Braddock Rd from Ravensworth to Humphries Dr. Even though there are existing paths that parallel most of Braddock, the VDOT team probably assumes once these mini asphalt roads are built, more people will leave their car at home and use the new paths to bike or walk than the existing paths. Click the link in the story above for the VDOT project page that describes the “shared use paths” People with environment objections are concerned about the removal of a large number of trees lining the road to make room for the paths and don’t believe the assumption that there will be less car use.
If I am able to ride a bicycle safely (i.e, not having to tangle with cars) from Ravensworth to the Kings park shopping center, I would consider it a success.
real work won’t start for 6 years, and I bet funds will get re-allocated before then when the recession hits. none of this will actually happen.
Ravensworth, a road that is already severely over-congested (i.e., the 1-2 mile afternoon backup on Ravensworth Mon-Fri starts around 4:30), will see congestion magically eliminated by adding two additional turn lanes at the Braddock / Ravensworth intersection. Interesting and completely disregards the fact that the additional lanes collapse to single lanes in less than 1/2 mile — essentially moving the backed-up traffic issue from Braddock to Ravensworth. A solution? Nope. Just moving it to make it less visible.
By adding two lanes for less than 1/2 mile you are ENCOURAGING traffic to use Ravensworth.
There is a current 4 lane road that was planned and built to support this level of traffic … Backlick. Instead of rewarding “cut through” traffic by building 2 lanes for part of the way on Ravensworth, funnel the traffic to Backlick with 4 lanes all of the way — which it was planned and built to do.
So, yep, Ravensworth, let’s move trees, maybe move telephone poles and sidewalks, and certainly take land (i.e., spends lots o’ money to reward “traffic” that is unwilling to use the road built for that purpose) — seems like that study was worth every Penny.