HD19 - Route 1 Centerline Design Study


Executive Summary:
This report summarizes the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT's) response to House Joint Resolution (HJR) 217 and Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 121, which were passed by the General Assembly in 1998. These resolutions directed VDOT to perform a centerline design study of the Route 1 corridor, to make recommendations for prioritization and funding for improvements and to present the study to the Governor and the General Assembly at the earliest possible date. The Centerline Study is a continuation of an earlier Corridor Study mandated by HJR 256 (1994) and HJR 21 (1996). The 27-mile corridor was divided into three separate segments: Project A (Stafford County line to Route 123), Project B (Route 123 to Armistead Road), and Project C (Belvoir Woods Parkway to the Capital Beltway). The attached report describes progress made during the study.

The Route 1 Steering Committee, established by VDOT during the earlier Corridor Study to ensure the Corridor Study was responsive to citizen concerns and the recommend alternatives to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), played a significant role in the Route 1 Centerline Study. Following completion of public hearings and reviews of impacts on the area, the CTB selected a Centerline Location for Project B on April 15, 2004, and Project A on July 15, 2004. The selection of the Centerline Location for Project C is pending completion of a transit study requested in SJR 59 (2006). To date, this study has not been funded. Fairfax County has revised its Countywide Comprehensive Plan to show only six lanes in the northern portion of Project C, from Mount Vernon Highway to the Capital Beltway.

Currently, no funds are allocated for Route 1 construction projects in the FY'10-15 VDOT Six- Year Improvement Plan. However, Prince William County has established two county bond-funded projects that will impact the Project A part of this corridor. The northern project from Neabsco Mills Road to Featherstone Road (corresponding to Project A, parts of Segments III and IV) is in the design phase. After the county-funded design is completed, the project will be suspended pending identification of funding sources for further work. Prince William County's intent was to use a combination of bond funding and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) funding, but thus far an alternate funding plan has not been developed. The southernmost project from Brady’s Hill to Joplin Road (corresponding to Project A, part of Segment II) is in the right of way phase and will proceed to construction using county bond funds.

On July 13, 2009, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved $3 million for a Route 1 highway expansion design for six lanes and a median and turnaround lane for a two-mile section of Route 1 beginning at Route 235 south to the Fairfax county parkway, to include the section of Route 1 that runs through Fort Belvoir. The county estimates completion of an upgraded Route 1 for this segment in five to six years. A transit analysis for the 7.4-mile segment of Route from north of Route 235 to the Beltway has not yet been funded.