Route 28 Interchange Underway
Work starts today on an important bit of congestion relief in Virginia: Construction of an interchange to replace the intersection of Route 28 and Frying Pan Road near Dulles Airport in Fairfax County.
This is the last of 10 interchanges to be built along Route 28, a major north south commuter route with links that include Route 7, the Dulles Toll Road and Interstate 66. Seven of the 10 new interchanges are done. Along with Frying Pan Road, the other two remaining to be completed are at Nokes Boulevard and Willard Road. The latter two got underway this summer. All three are scheduled to be done in fall 2009, and not a moment too soon, according to commuters.
On Tuesday, I checked out the recently opened partial interchange at Innovation Avenue. It's partial because the ramps link only with the northbound lanes of Route 28. There's not enough demand yet to justify the cost of a full interchange. Coming off the Dulles Toll Road and heading north, I had a straight shot onto Innovation Avenue by using the new ramp without having to merge into the through traffic on Route 28. The entrance ramp from Innovation onto Route 28 worked fine, too, although I wish it could have been extended north to link with the exit ramp to Old Ox Road, which by my rough estimate is about 2,000 feet away.
Many commuters were greatly pleased when the traffic light that had controlled the Innovation Avenue intersection was taken down toward the start of this project. (The detour route that had taken Innovation-bound traffic north to Old Ox is now gone, of course.)
I know some drivers have concerns about various aspects of the completed work, but overall I think this project -- the product of a public-private partnership begun in 2002 -- must be rated as real progress for Virginia transportation. This area around Dulles Airport, bounded by Routes 28, 50 and 606, is experiencing dramatic growth and the transportation network is struggling to keep up with it. If Virginia doesn't succeed in this, the traffic backups behind that now-gone light at Innovation Avenue will seem quaint.
By |
October 17, 2007; 12:56 PM ET
Construction
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Posted by: ms1234 | October 18, 2007 9:34 AM
Living in Centreville and having to commute up to Ashburn and Reston every now and then, I can say I love the new interchanges, though they really should have taken care of Willard a long time ago. These improvements make it easier to get up and down 28 and I no longer have to stress about this or that. What used to take 60-75 minutes to get to Dulles now takes 20-30 minutes. A vast improvement and less time I'm spending on the road polluting the atmosphere.
My only gripe is about the commute into Manassas that constantly backs up from Manassas Drive to I-66. If something could a be done, a bypass be built, anything, it would really make that more bearable.
Posted by: Jarrod | October 18, 2007 9:58 AM
While it's true that the entrance ramp from Innovation onto Route 28 doesn't extend north to link with the exit ramp to Old Ox Road, the new lane that starts at the Toll Road ends by becoming the exit ramp (and the ramp from Innovation merges into it), and I think it's fairly intuitive to use.
Posted by: Herndon | October 18, 2007 10:16 AM
Dr. Gridlock, you suggest that the Frying Pan Rd interchange is the last of the 10 to break ground. But has ground even been broken yet at Willard Rd? I know there were some land acquistion issues for the Willard Rd project which has delayed work. As others mention, the Willard Rd/Route 28 interchange should have been one of the highest priorities, along with probably Route 606 and Waxpool/Church (Route 625).
I agree RE: the transition lane that could have been extended north continuously from the on-ramp from Innovation to the exit to Route 606 east towards Herndon. I applaud all the VA 28 interchange projects but its little things like this that really make no sense. There are places all throughout western Fairfax and eastern Loudoun where traffic would run so much smoother with a little change in lane configuration. (The absence of right-turn only lanes throughout the town of Herndon is one of the biggest culprits. Instead of having three lanes going straight, two should go straight and one should be a right-only.)
With that said, at least they kept the fourth lane between the Toll Rd onramp and Innovation. (I sense this critical transition lane is about as important as the one on the inner loop of the Legion Bridge.) I haven't driven the Toll Rd west to 28 North (particularly during PM rush) since the improvements but I'm sure traffic flow is better than what it use to be.
Now lets get rid of all the traffic lights on Route 7, particularly between Cascades Parkway and Leesburg. Heading west, Loudoun County Pkwy, Ashburn Village and Belmont Ridge are all terrible high volume at-grade intersections. (I hear that the developers of One Loudoun (the World Trade center project) will finance (or partially finance) a future interchange at Route 7 and Loudoun County Pkwy.)
Posted by: xyv1027 | October 18, 2007 12:36 PM
Dr. G, Are you aware of any long term widening project scheduled for VA 606 between the Dulles Greenway and the Loudoun County Parkway? This stretch of Old Ox Rd. is a key two-lane thoroughfare (similar to what Route 28 was 20 years ago) connecting Route 50 near South Riding/Stone Ridge and the Dulles Airport area. The road is much busier than it use to be and even unsafe at times. There is a generous 55mph speed limit throughout the two-lane stretch that parallels the western border of Dulles Airport.
They are currently doing construction on VA 606 at the Dulles Greenway, maybe widening the road or improving the interchange, but it doesn't look like this construction is going to extend any further west (towards Route 50).
Posted by: Ashburn resident | October 18, 2007 12:42 PM
From Dr. Gridlock for xyv1027: Joan Morris, spokeswoman for VDOT, says the groundbreaking for the Willard interchange was Sept. 4.
For Asburn: I've been at several meetings in Virginia recently where political leaders and airport officials expressed great concern about 606, but there was no discussion of any plan to widen or otherwise improve the route in the near future.
Posted by: Robert Thomson | October 18, 2007 5:46 PM
Dr. Gridlock, do you have any idea when they plan to begin widening Route 28 from 6 to 8 lanes? I assume this probably won't begin until all the interchanges are completed? Thanks.
Posted by: T.C. | November 8, 2007 10:39 AM
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Now if only they would replicate that on Route 7!!