Broadlands Blvd paved all the way to Ashburn Rd!!!

Too bad the barriers are still up and you have to make a right at the stop sign (why is there a stop sign?) and get back onto Shellhorn.

 

So...when are they going to remove the barriers?

 

Probably about the time that they turn on the stoplights at Ashburn Village Blvd. and Shellhorn!

 

El-Oh-El.


But that is what I was thinking.

 

Well it is obvious that until a light or four way stop sign goes up at ashburn rd there will be no opening. We have the biggest joke I have seen for planning or road system in this county I have ever seen. I have lived in a bunch of places and I have never seen anything thing like it. Just too many amateurs involved in the planning process once you are outside the puds or they are taken over by the HOA's. This county needs serious professional planners with a proven track record to tie it all together or it just seems to get worse by the day. The county needs the developers money to make things happen and the developers need oversight from planners with no vested interest, another words professional planners with a innovative and proven track record from outside the the county and most likely outside the area with absolutely no vested interest.

The very big picture is being overlooked in this county and everyone is out for themselves. No matter we have decided to move in the next couple of years and perhaps much sooner.

 

HOAs don't have anything to do with the roads or road planning, unless the community is completely private and on private streets (like Belmont inside the gate.)
Even then, the HOA is stuck with the road system turned over by the Developer.

 

Not talking about HOA's the way you are Cliff you are misinterpreting what I am saying. What I am talking about are the county planning and approval system in Loudoun and it is showing how bad it is especially outside the puds. The developers do a far better job and have the money. The problem is they need oversight to make sure they do as much as possible. Loudoun should bring in a professional planning firm with a superb record of success and innovation to oversee the entire process and develop a coherent plan. Example most are happy that metro is coming, but after talking to some in charge of the road system I am extremely disappointed in the shortsightedness of their vision. Mainly relying on the metro and toll road for traffic egress and ingress into the extremely large and already approved metro centers and surrounding development. No parallel service or as called here collector roads along the toll road to 28 and 606 on each side. That is as basic planning as it gets and it is ignored for these enormous cities about to be built around the metro stations. As a matter of fact these collector roads should be built the entire length of the toll road and instead they built development right up against it especially dumb are the homes.

Lori Waters is one of the smartest BOS around when it comes to planning wanting to get done the two parallel collector roads (russel branch and riverside parkway)along rt 7 as soon as possible. Just like we need the two parallel collector roads along 28 and rt fifty. All that is in the works and much of it under construction or soon will be. Except no planned collector roads in our district along the toll road which will have the highest concentration of development by far in the county and the worst planning of roads the county dumb really stupid. The traffic will be far worse then anything we have seen so far if the roads around here are built as planned, but that will not be the case on rt 7 in Lori's district. Over in her district there will soon to be the nicest urban development ONE LOudoun that comes with interchanges and collector roads being built or soon to be as we we speak. Our part of the county needs to wake up and get those collector roads and far more or we will be in severe gridlock.

 

Lee-
Understand now what you meant. I totally agree with you about the lack of road planning around the Moorefield Station Metro stop. I was at an event with several members of the BoS. They were wholeheartedly supporting the Metro extension. When I asked if they've looked into the road infrastructure around the Metro, I was met with sheepish looks and "deer in the headlight" stares. Amazing.

By the way, the Russell Branch Parallel network was being planned when Lori was still in high school! I saw it on the road network plans when I moved here in 1997!

 

Cliff my good buddy again You know I love throwing Lori into the mix, especially since we all know how much you like and respect her ha ha ha ha

But you know in the next four years Lori will get all the credit whether she was the originator or not. Nobody is going to care who originated all the now or soon to be road and interchange projects in her district. Their will be an enormous change in making traffic better in her district in the next few years. Lori will also have the finest development well along in all of Loudoun in the next four years called ONE LOUDOUN. That developer is spending big bucks as we speak to the road system that will do a major amount of good for all her residents not just a few. That is what her voters will see in the next four years, they will see real progress not talk. And that will get her re-elected if she so chooses to run.

In the Dulles district we are playing catch up and four years is not a lot of time to see much progress if not implemented today. So Miller needs to get the bull by the horns and get things going transportation wise and large scale development wise or the next dulles BOS will reap the glory for all the planning and talking Miller did. Another words people want visible action not a lot of talk. We need those parallel service roads on both sides of the toll road at least shellhorn to the now half used sterling interchange at 28 and the southern connector to 606. Just those two connections and routes would make an enormous difference to our local traffic. The bigger problem is coming in from the west as there is no direct connection to the ashburn station from the west all blocked at the moment except the toll road. So it will be a maze getting to the Ashburn station from the west other then the toll road, very very bad planning. But I do have several ideas I am working on but they would require condemnation of several minor buildings to tie broadlands blvd to shellhorn. ANd make both boardlands blvd six lanes from belmont and curve it into shellhorn thru the church property and continue six lanes on shellhorn to the sterling interchange. That takes the traffic right to the metro station parking lot right behind Home Depot. Also then continue broadlands blvd from the hospital west and leave a corridor perhaps all the way to Leesburg. All very doable. This needs to be planned now and all the developers on board to pay for it. Hobie Mitchell who is on the transportation board could be very helpful.

 

Mr. Linux,

I don't think it was that far off topic.

 

Does anyone have an idea why this project is now 95% done and they have stopped for 2-3 weeks? Who is the contractor responsible? To say that this project is an embarrassment is an understatement. I would like to call and find out what the hold up is.

 

Considering how long this project has been going on and (I suspect) that there has been more idle time than productive time with up to several dormant weeks in a row on numerous instances, I am actually surprised at how much has been done in the last two months but certainly not surprised it's been idle recently.

 

I don't know the exact specifics, but there are several entities involved, Van Metre, the county, other community proffers. Van Metre is working to finish up their requirements, but they get stopped while one of the other entities complete their requirement.
Good luck in your search to find out the truth and please share with us if you find out!

 

Loudoun County plans to have Broadlands/Faulkner/Shellhorn open by the end of the month (orginally scheduled for the end of April). I had a contractor once tell me "in government a plan is just a list of a bunch of things that are never going to happen". I'll be impressed if they make the mark.

With the wet weather we've been having recently I can forsee the opening being delayed. Not to mention that the contractor seems to be working a 4 day work week to avoid paying overtime. There are also other issues outside of the Broadlands that may have to be cleared up before the road will be opened.

 

From Loudounextra.com (emphasis added):

Faulkner Parkway
A four-lane, median-divided road is being built to replace the gravel section of Shellhorne Road between Ashburn Road and the Broadlands community near St. Theresa’s Church. The project, which includes a new crossing of Beaverdam Run, began in summer 2006. The segment of Faulkner Parkway adjacent to the Ashbrier community, as well as the connection to Broadlands Boulevard, will open in July. The estimated cost is $2 million. The project is funded and administered by the developers of the Broadlands.

 

Yes and VM is going to construct from the greenway to waxpool and the connection to broadlands a four lane Belmont. Of course the hospital people have said the hospital is to construct belmont and the broadlands blvd entrance. Even though the hospital is to widen some of belmont a good part of it is going under construction this summer by VM not the hospital including the broadlands blvd connection


From Loudoun Extra

Belmont Ridge Road
A portion of Belmont Ridge between the Dulles Greenway and just north of Waxpool Road is being reconstructed and widened to a four-lane, median-divided roadway. Work began in April and should be completed by mid-2009. The project is funded and administered by the developers of the Broadlands.

 

"The project is funded and administered by the developers of the Broadlands"

So VM is in charge...what's the holdup??

 

The utilities were the holdup which had nothing to do with VM

It seems the power company is looking for that raise and holding many projects hostage to get it.

 

Correction and clarification:
Van Metre is completing Broadlands Blvd to Belmont Ridge, and widening Belmont Ridge to 4 lanes from Broadlands Blvd to the Greenway.

Van Metre also has a 2-lane proffer to widen Belmont Ridge between Broadlands Blvd and Truro Parish. The other 2 lanes have proffers that have not yet triggered. I don't know when this stretch will be done.

HCA's proffer is to widen Belmont Ridge to 4 lanes from Truro Parish to Brambleton.
At the time of their last application, it was thought that Belmont Ridge from Truro Parish to Broadlands Blvd would be done, so that's why their proffer starts at Truro Parsih.