Area residents talked traffic with the experts, Tuesday night, learning about local, state and federal road projects. But they didn't like everything they heard.
Pat Ferguson, for example, of Centreville's Gate Post Estates, reacted strongly to the Tri-County Connector project designed to link Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun counties.
"Another major road going through Centreville and Chantilly will really hurt our communities and our way of life," she said. "I can see no advantage to Fairfax County. It's for other people to drive through us; it's a six-lane highway — trucks will go on it."
Ken Wilkinson, with VDOT's environmental division, replied, "It's to answer the needs of local communities and their long-range plans." But Bull Run Estates' Christine Sunda also had problems with some of the proposed Tri-County routes.
"One alternative goes through a slave graveyard behind Bull Run Elementary, and another goes right through the special-events center in Bull Run Regional Park," she said. "And one alternative is near my house."
The West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) hosted the Western Fairfax County Transportation Forum in the Sully District Governmental Center, and some 50 people attended. Among them were Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully), Del. Gary Reese (R-67th), Sully Planning Commissioner Ron Koch, Sully Transportation Commissioner Jeff Parnes, Sully Park Authority representative Hal Strickland, Mark McConn of the Sully District Council, WFCCA President Richard Smith and WFCCA Land-Use Committee members.
Speaking, besides Wilkinson, were Young Ho Chang, director of the county Department of Transportation, and Jack Van Dop, a project director with the Federal Highway Administration. Chang updated residents on county transportation projects, Wilkinson discussed the Tri-County Connector and Van Dop talked about the Manassas Battlefield Bypass project.
CHANG SAID the county spent about $92 million on transportation in FY 2003. Still, he said, "If there was ever a need, it's the extension of the Metro line out to Centreville. We need more transit service in western Fairfax County. We want to expand bus service [here] and one of the key things toward making it happen is construction of the West Ox Road bus garage. Planning for this is already underway."
Noting the six interchanges planned for Route 28 — including the one at Barnsfield Road, leading to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Annex in Chantilly — Chang said the public/private partnership by which they're being built will enable work to go from design stage to final construction in four years.
"It's phenomenal," he said. "A typical project takes nine to 12 years — and much of our schedule is based on funding availability." And therein lies the problem, said Chang. Beginning in FY 2005, he said, road maintenance and operation costs will exceed construction costs. And more than $700 million is needed to pay off deficits on current projects.
Furthermore, with the ever-increasing state budget crunch, he said, by FY 2013, VDOT will not have enough funding available to match federal funds. "This is the scariest thing I ever heard," said Chang. "This is 10 years from now — that means we don't have a program."
When an audience member asked if Chang had any good news, Reese said he'd actually "sugar-coated" it. "In 2007, we won't be able to get federal funding for our road projects," he said. "[That will be disastrous for our local roads."
Chang said what's needed is a "reliable, steady and significant" source of funding. But an audience member asked when the county is going to learn to stem its growth. If it did, he said, it would "stem the growth of all this stuff that's needed to support it."
Nonetheless, said Chang, "If people don't [move] here, they'll go to Loudoun or Prince William and will drive through this county. They're going to commute somehow."
Parnes noted that Fairfax is now reaping what it's sown. "We've chosen not to improve Yates Ford Road, as Prince William requested, or Braddock [as Loudoun would like]," he said. "What we do is played back to us."
VIRGINIA RUN'S Ted Troscianecki asked if someone was considering providing incentives to employers who encourage teleworking as a way of mitigating traffic. Chang said legislation to do so failed "because the rest of the state knew it would mainly benefit Fairfax County and Northern Virginia."
Centreville's Terry Spence said someone "missed the boat" on transportation planning for the air and space museum. "We're gonna overwhelm the local roads," he said. Chang said the new interchange will handle much of the traffic. He said the county proposed a plan providing bus service to the annex, but it wasn't chosen. And, he added, "It comes down to who's going to pay for the service."
Regarding the Tri-County project, Wilkinson said, "By the end of this month, we hope to publish a map with the candidate build alternatives.?????? And over the next six to nine months, we'll evaluate it more closely and look at the impact on air quality, noise, bugs and bunnies and wetlands.
The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) should be available for public comment, next fall — 10 months later than originally anticipated. He also said the preliminary route alternatives will ultimately be about 250 feet wide.
Van Dop said the Battlefield Bypass project — tasked with closing Routes 29 and 234 through the park and rerouting traffic elsewhere — might incorporate part of the Tri-County into it's final proposed route. But an audience member suggested moving the Bypass further west to accommodate future development. And many suggested overlaying these two projects on one map so residents could have a clearer idea of everything planned for this area.
And WFCCA's Chris Terpak-Malm said Routes 29 and 234 should remain open, but I-66 should be improved. "I drive through the park, once a week, and enjoy the sense of history," she said. "If you fixed I-66, you'd fix Route 29."