Route 1 Improvements Project construction begins this month

Fort Belvoir, Va. (March 27, 2014) - After 20 years of planning, construction for the U.S. Route 1 Improvements Project is about to begin.

Project officials spoke to Route 1 residents and commuters about what they can expect in the coming months during a "Pardon Our Dust" information meeting March 20 at Hayfield Secondary School.

Jeffrey McKay, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, expressed excitement that the project was finally getting under way, and asked commuters and residents to "bear with the workers" during the construction period.

"Route 1 has been left behind for way too long when it comes to public improvements. We've got to get Route 1 fixed," he said. "There's going to be some pains we've got to go through."

The $180 million improvements project, funded in part by the Office of the Economic Adjustment, is directed by a partnership between Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, the Virginia Department of Transportation; U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir, and Fairfax County, Va.

The project involves widening a 3.5-mile stretch of Route 1 (Richmond Highway) from four to six through lanes from Telegraph Road (611) to Mount Vernon Highway (Route 235) in Fairfax County, according to the U.S. Route 1 Improvements at Fort Belvoir Information Website, http://rte1ftbelvoir.com.

It also includes adding left and right turn lanes at intersections and connecting roadways, and providing a multi-use trail, pedestrian sidewalk and on-road bicycle accommodations.

Construction is set to begin in late March and slated to be complete by June 2016, said Pedro Doldan, a construction manager for Corman-Wagman, the build/design team for the project.

There will be daily scheduled lane and shoulder closures outside of peak hours, Doldan said. Portable message signs will give commuters up-to-date closure and traffic information at key locations, he added.

The project will improve traffic flow into and around Fort Belvoir in a couple of ways, said Chris Landgraf, installation master planner with the Fort Belvoir Directorate of Public Works.

"The widening of Route 1, coupled with the completion of Mulligan Road, will allow people more lanes and better road surfaces to move through or around Fort Belvoir," he said. "The project will also resynchronize the lights at Pohick Road (Tulley Gate) and the Fairfax County Parkway, so traffic should not back up between the two lights as much."

In the meantime, drivers may want to consider using Mulligan Road as an alternate route, which is set to open to traffic in June, he said, or stay out of the traffic by carpooling or using alternative forms of transportation, such as the VRE/Fairfax Connector option at Franconia-Springfield Metro, or bus options available out of Fredericksburg or Stafford.

Drivers on Route 1 can help ease the construction process by obeying traffic signs, respecting the workers, paying attention and exercising patience, Landgraf said.

"The road is being constructed in phases that should keep four lanes of traffic open the majority of the time, especially during the rush hour traffic," he said. "Some delays will occur, but if we keep our eye on the completion date - June 2016 - the construction will be complete before we know it and we will have a new, wider road to travel."

The next step in the project is to determine what will go in the median area of Route 1, such as bus rapid transit, light rail transit or extended Metrorail service. The Route 1 Multimodal Transportation Alternatives Analysis Team continues to host public meetings to get feedback from the community regarding this issue. For more information, visit www.Route1MultimodalAA.com.

"Pardon Our Dust" information meetings will be presented for the community every six months.

For more information on the Route 1 Improvements Project, visit www.rte1ftbelvoir.com or www.facebook.com/rte1fortbelvoir.