Several intersections near Fort Belvoir earn poor or flunking grades for their ability to handle traffic even before the area is hit by thousands of new commuters, according to a Fairfax County report released Friday.
As many as 19,000 new military jobs are set to descend on the southeast corner of the county by 2011 as Belvoir accommodates Base Realignment and Closure, a congressional order that three years ago shifted defense facilities across the country. More employees from defense contractors are expected to flood the area as well.
Friday’s report by the county Department of Planning and Zoning catalogs the efficiency and inefficiency of road crossings that make up the lattice of highways around the base, part of a transportation network that planners predict will be swamped by the job influx.
The ratings are mixed – the intersection of Backlick Road and Calamo Street scores an A, for example, which means a free flow of traffic during peak morning and evening hours.
But the worstlocations, which scored an F, are marked by a breakdown in flow and long backups during either – or both – of a day’s rush hours. Among them are the intersections of the Franconia-Springfield Parkway with Spring Village Drive, Commerce Street with Franconia Road, the Fairfax County Parkway with Fullerton Road, and Richmond Highway with Old Mill Road.
It’s a bad sign, considering that the consensus among officials is that the area’s roads are going to get worse without hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of upgrades.
“The travel patterns within and through this area will be impacted by the Fort Belvoir BRAC actions, as well as future local and regional growth,” the report said.
The Army says $450 million worth of fixes are needed, while local estimates run much higher.
Even though the intersections have low ratings, many of the long stretches of road in between remain uncongested, said Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Earl Flanagan, who helped write the report. Flanagan nevertheless said he is worried about the impact of both the military jobs and contractors on the roads network, the latter of which is far less predictable.
Report card
Fairfax‘s intersection grading scale:
A: “Free-flow conditions”
B: Free flow but with the noticeable presence of other traffic
C: Density of traffic, where minor disruptions and backups are possible
D: Severely restricted maneuverability, reduced travel speed
E: Intersection is at or near capacity, without the ability to dissipate disruptions, with frequent backup
F: “Forced or breakdown flow.” Vehicles coming faster than they are discharged. Backups with brief periods of movement followed by stoppages.
