Fairfax County officials have delayed a verdict on development plans near a future Metro station in the western part of the county, as Fairfax, Loudoun County and Herndon leaders bicker over its effect on their jurisdictions.
Developers want to build around 2 million square feet of office space and a series of hotels and apartments around the planned Route 28 Metrorail station, slated for completion in 2016 as part of the Dulles Metrorail extension.
But each jurisdiction is wary of absorbing undue traffic burdens in the name of economic development.
In particular, Loudoun County officials have voiced concerns about a bridge over the Dulles Toll Road that would funnel too many people to their side of the county line.
Staff for the three areas devised different plans for the bridge over the Dulles Toll Road, with each originating at Sunrise Valley Drive. Fairfax officials balked at a proposal to bring the bridge near the entrance of the Center for Innovative Technology, and Loudoun officials worry about any disruption to plans for the Dulles World Center and the shops and restaurants expected to come with it.
Though the development isn’t in Herndon, leaders such as Mayor Steve DeBenedittis say they are concerned the area lacks the transportation support to handle all the projects.
Critics have contended that the handful of transit-oriented communities planned for Northern Virginia won’t be feasible without drastic improvements to some of the nation’s most clogged roadways.
The Fairfax planning commission was scheduled to vote on the comprehensive plan Thursday, but that decision has been postponed until next month.
The Route 28 station would be built between the Herndon-Monroe station and Washington Dulles International Airport. It calls for two station entrances on both sides of the Dulles Toll Road, a bus drop-off at both entrances and parking for 2,000 cars to the south of the station.
