A new medical facility has opened inside the Lorton Station shopping plaza, near the Virginia Railway Express station on Lorton Station Road.
"Our goal is to become more active in the community," said Chris Lucius, administrator of the Medical Center, during a meeting of the South County Federation on Tuesday, June 13.
The center offers a variety of health care services, including internal medicine, family practice, general dentistry, infectious diseases and orthopedic care, said Dr. Stephanie Carter, who joined Lucas in thanking the Federation for its support. Dialysis and radiology services are expected to be introduced at the center later this year, she said.
The Federation breezed through a laundry list of agenda items, including an update on numerous road projects in the Lorton area.
"The westbound lanes of Lorton Road near the railroad bridge will be completed in July," said member John Fedorshik. Traffic lights at the intersection of Lorton Road and the on and off ramps for I-95, currently a congested area, will be turned on once the work is finished. A targeted date of Aug. 1 has been set, he said.
In addition, phase three of the expansion of Route 123 has been completed, Fedorshik reported. The stretch of Ox Road between Woodbridge and Palmer Drive is now open to two and three lanes heading in each direction. Also, the first half of a new bridge over the Occoquan River has been finished, Fedorshik said, and traffic will be rerouted to the new portion while the old portion is torn down and rebuilt.
"They're going to use the same pattern as the new part of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge," he said.
AN OLD BRIDGE on Lorton Road over Pohick Creek has also been torn down with the exception of one piling, Fedorshik said.
"Apparently, it's spawning season for the fish," he said. "Once that's over, the last post will go."
Federation member Tim Rizer asked about some stop signs that have been installed near the newly opened Lorton Marketplace on Gunston Cove Road.
"It appears that people are stopping for no reason" at the intersection of two roads because there is no traffic coming from the fourth direction, Rizer said. He asked a member of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation about the signs and were told they had been installed by KSI, Inc., which developed the shopping center.
"Well, it's a Catch-22," Fedorshik said. "If you take the signs out, we'll all drive faster."
The small hill near the intersection creates a "blind spot," said Federation president Susan Fremit. "Plus, speed is a major complaint from people in the area. I'm sure they'd be more than happy for you to come out and stand there to see the traffic if you'd like," she said to Rizer.
Other items discussed included the relocation of a Cingular Wireless antenna from near the I-95 Southbound exit due to a lane expansion from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
"They proposed to move it to the long stretch of land between the entrance to 95 North and Amtrak," said Calvin Smith, the Land Use Committee chair. "We're still looking for a different location."
Dale Rumberger, principal at South County Secondary School, has been named the Grand Marshall for the Lorton Independence Day Parade, which will begin on Tuesday, July 4 at 11 a.m. The parade route begins at Lorton Road and extends down Lorton Station Boulevard to the Lorton Town Center and will be followed by a community celebration with antique cars, food, clowns and other entertainment, Fedorshik said.