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Where Will Soapstone Crossing Begin and End?
Engineers show Restonians some of the options for a future crossing point of the Dulles Toll Road.
Reston residents got a look Wednesday night at how a future extension of Soapstone Drive might work as it connects Sunset Hills Road and Sunrise Valley Drive and offers an access option to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.
"This is an opportunity to find other transportation alternatives," Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins told the crowd at South Lakes High School.
"Reston has a great layout," she said. "But we have some barriers. The gulf of the Dulles Toll Road makes it difficult as there is no place other than Wiehle and Reston Parkway."
Hudgins also said there is not yet funding in place to build the Soapstone extension, which consultants say could cost $100-150 million.
One of the biggest costs: land acquisition and impact, said Warren Hughes of the engineering firm ATCS.
Two of the proposed plans involve building the road through existing buildings in the association drive area.
Hughes said his team has determined in its research so far that a crossing would reduce traffic impact on Wiehle Avenue (which is expected to be heavily impacted when Metro opens here in December); improve accessibility to the Metro station; would be feasible from an engineering and environmental perspective; and could in integrated with a planned street grid and existing future development in Reston.
The need for a new crossing was analyzed from 2007 to 2010 by the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
The audience was presented with four alternatives for the crossing, each differing a little in layout and access point. The rough estimate is they will all be 100-feet wide, allowing for veichle, pedestrian and bike lanes, though Hughes said the final width could change.
Take a look at the entire presentation here.
* Alternative 1C - the southern terminus would be at the existing intersection of Sunrise Valley Drive and Commerce Park Drive. The northern terminus would be at Sunset Hills Road and the driveway/garage at BAE systems. The alignment north of the toll road would go through the existing BAE garage. The alignment south of the toll road would traverse Association Drive and impact existing surface parking and access roads.
* Alternative 3D -The southern terminus would be the exiting intersection of Soapstone and Sunrise Valley; the northern terminus would be at the intersection of Sunset Hills and BAE driveway and parking garage. The alignment north of the toll road would go through the existing BAE garage. The alignment south of the toll road would traverse Association Drive and impact existing surface parking and access roads.
* Alternative 4D - The southern terminus would be at the existing intersection of Sunrise Valley and Soapstone; the northern terminus would be at Sunset Hills and a spot near the easement for the Colonial Pipeline near 11501 Sunset Hills Rd. Alignment to the north of the toll road would be over a portion of the exiting surface parking for Capital Dividend Building. Alignment to the south would go through the National Association of Secondary School Principals' building.
* Alternative 5C - Southern terminus would be at Sunrise Valley Drive and a spot about 350 feet west of Soapstone; northern terminus would be at Sunset Hills and a spot just west of Colonial Pipe easement. Alignment to the north of the toll road would go through a building owned by Musica at 11510 Sunset Hills Rd. Alignment to the south would traverse the area running along property line between 11600 Sunrise Valley Dr. and properties on the western part of Association Drive.
Alternative 5C caught the attention of Reston 2020's Tammi Petrine, who said that a terminus at Indian Ridge Road - which goes into Reston National Golf Course - is going to be make residents very concerned.
"The farther west you go, the more nervous you are making Restonians who are trying to save the golf course," she said.
The owners of Reston National Golf Course are awaiting a Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on May 22. If they win the appeal, the open space of the golf course could eventually be redeveloped as residential buildings. Read all stories on the Golf Course Redevelopment here.
Project organizers are taking public feedback on the proposed crossings. Send comments to hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov
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David Beecy
7:56 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
This article does not cover the fact that there were numerous comments from members of the public raising questions about the limited scope of the feasibility study and the apparent "locked-in" (or to use a contemporary term "backed in") assumption that a new, very expensive multi-modal bridge was the only feasible way of meeting the goals.
Among the points made by commenters was that the current phase of the project only looked "inside the box" at where to put the very expensive new road and bridge, rather than also looking for more creative ways to meet the needs given the existing physical constraints.
Finally, it would be useful if you did an update of the article, including the fact that a public comment period is open through April 5. I will be submitting comments, and expect that there will be numerous submissions, particularly as to recommendations for the next phase of planning studies, recognizing the limited available funding for further studies.
John Lovaas
8:25 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Soapstone overpass is a potential major aid to coming congestion relief. Unfortunately, it will certainly not become for many years and will do nothing to solve congestion nightmare coming once the new Wiehle Station opens and is the end of the Silver Line for 5 or more years.
The last time VDOT reported to the community on the Soapstone project, it was planned for construction around 2030! Is there a new projected reality date?
Karen Goff
8:34 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
at the meeting the other night they did not set a date and admitted they also don't have the money. So....it is just a concept right now, and you are correct - likely many, many years away.
The Bratwurst King
8:49 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
what a shame and lack of foresight
Karen Goff
10:04 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
I am not following you. Why is this a bad thing to have more ways to connect South and North and take some of the traffic off of Wiehle?
Jim Hubbard
9:57 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
If you wanted to improve transportation in the northwest part of the county and had $100-150 million, what would you do? That's much closer to the question the County Board should be asking than whatever question prompted the Soapstone extension as the answer. If you asked the right question, I doubt that another road across the Toll Road would be the first answer.
Sadly, the County is not willing to spend $100-150 million on better transportation and, even worse, doesn't see improving transportation as a high priority. Nonetheless the community needs to focus on steps that can be taken for whatever small sums the County is willing to spend and that will improve transportation. I suspect that more and better bus service in Reston and surrounding areas combined with minor (not expensive) road improvements is the best we are going to do. (And I would include bus lanes, more sidewalks, better designed intersections under the heading of road improvements.)
Tammi Petrine
8:32 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
I think my comment was re: the fear of a major NORTH-SOUTH Link from South Lakes which is a major E/W artery. Nonetheless, several things last night bothered me. Why is the nomenclature being changed from Soapstone Connector to Sunrise/Sunset Connector. If it doesn't connect directly to Soapstone, we are just exacerbating gridlock.
Second, while I salute the athletes who bike & walk, we are still a suburban community with a soon-to-be relatively SMALL, linear urban core. You have to provide for vehicles.
Citizens who speak of other avenues of amelioration for the tremendous gridlock facing Reston next Dec. have not attended the 100's of planning meetings held by the county staff in the last 3 years. We have beaten the alternative measures to death, and no plan offers feasiblity for wholesale abandoning of autos. People attracted to Metro from very great distances need a place to park. At the same time, cars are being forced off the tollway by irresponsible planning pushed through without thought of consequences by our elected officials - local, state and federal.
Sadly, Restonians are being screwed left and right yet few are aware of the ramifications. Yup, the Silver Line is coming (we think: what's with the skinny tunnel tests? We're told all is fine. I'm not convinced!) but preparations for it are anything but adequate. Look for a whole bunch of placating meetings in the next 6 mos. What matters is nothing can be done with zero $$$.
Michael Sanio
8:49 am on Sunday, March 24, 2013
Very pleased to see more discussion on mobility throughout Reston, we must make investments in transportation improvements that encourage and support north/south travel to the metro station across the Dulles Toll Road. These improvements include those discussed in this article, plus safe, convenient, accessible bicycle, pedestrian, and bus transportation options that encourage alternatives to taking cars. We need principles, guidelines and standards for transit oriented development/redevelopment in Reston.