U.S. 1 ‘Quad’ Intersection Part of Potomac Shores

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — With an unanimous vote, Prince William officials approved the Potomac Shores development on the banks of the Potomac River.

The development will bring nearly 4,000 new homes, a central business district, a new Virginia Railway Express station which the developer will pay for, and hopes of a high-end hotel. While a rezoning of the overall property was approved Tuesday night, some of Potomac Shores’ first homes are already under construction and are slated to be on the market early next year.

Along with the project will come a new Potomac Shores Parkway, an approved new six-lane road that will intersect at U.S. 1 and Va. 234. With the rezoning vote, a new intersection will be built here that will provide better access to Potomac Shores to and from Interstate 95, and will prevent left turns from U.S. 1 or Va. 234 as they are made today.

Old Stage Coach Road, which connects with U.S. 1 at Va. 234, will be turned into a cul-de-sac, and connector roads will be built to allow for connections to U.S. 1 and Va. 234. Traffic using U.S. 1 and Va. 234 will be diverted through an improved commuter lot currently located near the intersection, according to developer’s plans.

Prince William Potomac District Supervisor Maureen Caddigan said the intersection will be built in phases, and that she has asked the developer for two additional proffers to help fund future road improvement studies for U.S. 1.

“The second proffer provides an additional $250,000 to the county for use in addressing the issues that comes up in the future with the final design of the intersection.” said Caddigan. “These funds may be used for off site improvements such as traffic signals and studies. I thnk it gives the county additional flexibility to address impacts that may arise in the county or the [Town of Dumfries] at a time when we have more engineering details and a better idea of the overall route corridor improvements.”

Officials in Dumfries have opposed the newly designed intersection approved by Prince William Supervisors on Tuesday, and maintain final approval of the changes to the road not only rest with county officials but with Virginia Department of Transportation officials in Richmond, too.

A plan to allow ethanol fuel to be transported from a nearby storage facility along a two-lane Possum Point Road in Dumfries has also drawn ire from town residents and officials. They would rather see fuel transport trucks the the wider, future Potomac Shores Parkway — an idea Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Maria Sinner said would not be favored by Potomac Shores developers.

“We would like the resolution passed with the added language that the decision to approve the intersection also lies with VDOT and the town, not just with the Prince William County Department of Transportation,” said Dumfries Director of Public Works Richard West.

A development that has changed hands several times over the past decade, Potomac Shores first came on the map as Harbor Station in 2001, but a slow economy kept the development from moving forward. A cloverleaf intersection at U.S. 1 and Va. 234 was called for under the original plans, but that idea was dumped as part of the newly approved rezoning in favor of a no-left turn “quad” intersection.

Traffic issues aside, several business owners said they support the new development.

“I moved by business from Occoquan to Dumfries because of Harbor Station, and as that slipped through the cracks, I ask that you approve this… because I was a commuter to D.C., now my son is a commuter to D.C., the VRE station will help improve those commutes,” said realtor Mark Worrilow.

Those in Southbridge, a 20-year-old development that will sit next to the new Potomac Shores, also welcomes the new residents.

“People want to see the completion of an area they always were told would be apart of Southbridge. They want to use VRE, trails,