A cut in the statewide transportation budget has forced Loudoun County to reduce funding for road improvements by 25 percent over the next six years. Thanks to some creative adjustments, however, all projects in the works will still be finished — though a little later than originally planned.
The Board of Supervisors recently approved the county's secondary road six-year plan after a flurry of last-minute adjustments resulting from the budget cut. The $31.2 million plan encompasses 26 individual road projects as well as general traffic services such as new signals and signs.
"I would have preferred not to have cut 25 percent," Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run) said. "Northern Virginia is outnumbered by central and southern delegates and senators. We are pretty much the cash cow for the rest of the state. We will continue to be the cash cow until our delegates and senators outnumber everyone else."
According to Assistant County Administrator Terrie Laycock, the budget cuts were absorbed by pushing back construction dates, giving the county more time to gather funds. In most cases, preliminary engineering work will continue as planned.
ONE PROJECT was nearly dropped altogether, although it wasn't a simple case of too few funds. Residents of Mount Gilead Rd. petitioned supervisors to either pave or not pave a one-mile section. Some worried about safety issues on the narrow road, where two mail trucks have flipped over in past years. After a VDOT survey found that road improvements would result in the removal of trees and a stone fence, other residents thought the collateral damage would outweigh the benefits of paving.
The Mount Gilead project was dropped from the six-year plan after news of the state budget cut reached supervisors. Supervisor Staton, however, successfully petitioned the board to reinstate the project and allot $90,000 to preliminary engineering work on the road.
So in a cash-strapped year, where did that $90,000 come from?
According to Laycock, the plan was adjusted so that funds from the Edwards Ferry Rd. project moved to Mount Gilead. The estimated cost of paving a .75 mile stretch on Edwards Ferry Rd. was $9,687,400 - a serious chunk of change for a relatively small project.
"We certainly aren't going to use $10 million to pave [it]," Laycock said.
The $90,000 will be used to determine if low-impact paving can be done on Mount Gilead Rd. as part of the Rural Rustic Road program.
ONE ROAD included in the six-year plan is not a VDOT program, but rather shows an alternative way to fund projects, according to Laycock.
The Loudoun County Parkway near Route 7 will increase from two to four lanes by the end of this year, thanks to a combination of $3.9 million in state funds and $6.2 million in proffers from the DeMattis Group, which is developing a nearby property.
For Loudoun's pro-growth supervisors, it's an example of why working with developers pays off. When developers want to rezone land to build more units, they offer the county cash incentives that, in turn, fund infrastructure.
"This board is doing the best we can to put asphalt on the ground, and yes, that's done through rezoning," said Supervisor Bruce Tulloch (R-Potomac) before the board approved the six-year plan on July 6. "The bottom line is we're not getting enough money through Richmond. The fact that we're cutting back our six-year plan — that's ridiculous."
SOME OF THE projects of the secondary road plan include:
* Replacing the bridge over the north fork of Goose Creek on Shelburne Glebe Road.
* Widening the Loudoun County Parkway from four to six lanes.
* Widening Belmont Ridge Road to four lanes near the Dulles Greenway.
* Modifying the bridge over Beaverdam Creek on the Snickersville Turnpike.
* Reconstructing five miles of Old Ox Road to four lanes.
* Improving Sycolin Road.
* Paving .75 miles of Edwards Ferry Road.
* Improving N. Rodgers St., W. Virginia Avenue, Maryland Avenue and Old Wheatland Road as part of the Rural Rustic Road program.