Health & Fitness
Highway Engineering and BRAC
What will BRAC have when they widen Richmond Highway (US-1)? Maybe other planning and ultimate work will be required - -
On the 24th of May beginning at 7:30PM, the Mason Neck Citizens Association will meet in the Anne Mason Room at Gunston Hall. The Commander and Assistant Commander of Fort Belvoir will discuss the Richmond Highway changes thought to be needed to arrive and depart from Fort Belvoir.
Their plan – to further widen Richmond Highway from Woodlawn on the North to the Fairfax County Parkway (route 7100) on the south and only that far. I believe neither man is a member of the Army Corps of Engineers. Perhaps they should take a quick course in the subject of highway engineering and traffic management.
Any detailed traffic counts on all of the surrounding roads? Who are the actual planners of this proposal? Is the State of Virginia doing the actual planning? Who has thought out the numbers of vehicles that will use Richmond Highway or what happens at various intersections when the traffic breaks up to follow other roads to reach home? Beyond the commuter numbers, has anyone looked at the amount of commercial traffic using Richmond Highway trying to get away from the tie ups on US-95 and all of its sub-numbers at all times of the day moving north and south. Maybe more thorough research is needed?
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Morning traffic north (actually east) begins well before the Parkway. The traffic begins to pile up from about the CSX underpass. By the light at Gunston Road, it is a solid double stream. It doesn’t get much thinner by the time it reaches the Parkway. It will not be completely thinned out by the light at Woodlawn.
Evening south bound traffic is no better. The traffic is a nightmare until at least 6:00PM on Richmond Highway. Beginning at the lower gate, Pohick Road, turning south makes that part of US1 a race track. I find that some nose to tail pipe line of cars dispersing to Lorton Road, west bound to route 123 thence to Woodbridge and Dale City or northward on the Fairfax Parkway; or even westward to pick up the Prince William Parkway. There is also a minor stream of cars using Old Colchester Road. These enter the “Historic By-Way” at Pohick Church and complete their traverse at Furnace Road and Richmond Highway. The traffic light at that corner is timed for maximum use of the cars on Richmond Highway.
