Proposed roads bond projects favored over park plans in Occoquan District

LAKE RIDGE — What’s being billed as a “parks and roads” bond are two very different animals. And Prince William County leaders are expected to treat them that way.

There are $200 million in new parks projects that are being reviewed that could be built in Prince William. And, there’s $512.5 million in proposed transportation projects. The majority of them would be funded by a $400 million roads bond, while the rest of the funds would need to be cobbled together from state and federal sources.

The Board of County Supervisors in June will decide if they will put the two bonds on a November referendum and let voters decide if the county wants to issue the bonds — it’s first since 2006 for projects this size. In the meantime, Supervisors are reviewing and scrutinizing a list of proposed projects that may never see the light of day.

Supervisor Ruth Anderson (Occoquan District) supports a November referendum but isn’t confident that all the parks and roads projects as they are currently proposed will remain on the list.

Of the proposed parks projects, the “Mac Daddy” of them all, an $84 million indoor sports complex, would be located in Anderson’s district, somewhere along Interstate 95, she said.

Of the proposed roads projects, four are in Anderson’s district.

Anderson, whose long tackled transportation issues and lobbied state and regional officials for a fix for I-95 south congestion at Route 123, favors building roads over parks and for building them now.

“The development is never going to stop,” said Anderson

Here are the projects outlined in the proposed $400 million bond in the Occoquan District:

$70 million interchange at Prince William Parkway and Minnieville Road

• Construct grade-separated interchange known as “Single Point Urban Interchange”
• Minnieville Road on top, Prince William Parkway on bottom
• No existing funding, but some funding could come from state and federal sources due to proximity to Potomac Mills and the existing heavy congestion at the intersection

$15 million Old Bridge Road Flyover Ramp 

• Construct ramp for drivers exiting Interstate 95 onto Route 123 north, then turning left onto Old Bridge Road
• The new ramp would eliminate the need to use left turn lane, cross three lanes of traffic to get to the signal light
• Route 123 north traffic headed to Occoquan and Fairfax County would drive under the ramp

$15 million Realign Old Bridge Road at Prince William Parkway

• Realign Prince William Parkway so it serves as a direct link
• Removes the need for drivers headed from Woodbridge to Manassas to turn left to stay on Prince William Parkway
• Lessens congestion for drivers traveling from Manassas to Woodbridge who must use a right merge lane at Old Bridge Road to remain on Prince William Parkway east
• Drivers who want to use Old Bridge Road would need to turn right/left from the parkway to access

$20 million Summit School Road extension 

• Build a four-lane extension of Summit School Road from Minnieville Road to the Horner Road Commuter lot, and then connecting to Caton Hill Road
• The project already has $11 million in funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority
• The Horner Road Commuter Lot is Virginia’s largest

On the Prince William Parkway/Old Bridge Road realignment, Anderson says this project is being met with criticism from nearby business owners who tell her that, if the project is built, it will have a negative effect on their businesses. If the realignment is never built, Anderson says she supports, at the very least, adding an additional merge lane for drivers traveling east toward Woodbridge, to increase capacity for drivers who want to say on Prince William Parkway.

Prince William County Transportation Director Rick Canizales told Supervisors it was always envisioned that Prince William Parkway would be the main thoroughfare through here and that a realignment would better encourage drivers to use the parkway to get to I-95, not Old Bridge Road.

The full Board will decide at its June 18 or June 25 meeting to place a bond referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot.