The nine-mile western segment, which spans Route 29 in Gainesville to Route 28 in Centreville, opened ahead of schedule on Saturday, Sept. 10. This westernmost portion is the first section of the 66 Express Lanes to open, and will provide early benefits to I-66 travelers including added capacity, smoother pavement, better travel reliability and new connections. The remaining 13 miles of new express lanes along I-66 between Route 28 and I-495 (the Capital Beltway) are scheduled to open in December 2022.
“Today’s early opening of the first section of the 66 Express Lanes allows the Commonwealth and its partners to begin providing long awaited relief to drivers who have dealt with daily congestion, unreliability, and most recently, five years of heavy roadway construction,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller. “By the end of this year, we expect to open the remainder of the more than $3-billion 66 Express Lanes megaproject, benefitting I-66 travelers, and becoming a critical part of the Commonwealth’s planned 90+ mile express lanes network in Northern Virginia.”
The new western section of E-ZPass lanes is open to all traffic toll-free initially so that motorists can benefit from the additional capacity, become familiar with the new express lanes and access points, and open an E-ZPass account, if needed. Tolling and HOV rules are expected to begin by the end of September.
“Extensive planning and design, ongoing collaboration and hard work have made today’s early opening of the western section of the 66 Express Lanes Megaproject a reality,” said VDOT Commissioner Stephen Brich. “We are proud to be able to start delivering positive results to I-66 travelers earlier than expected, despite experiencing unprecedented times and a global pandemic for the last few years. Drivers should remain alert to the continued construction occurring on the eastern end of the corridor, as our team focuses on completing and opening this remaining section of 66 Express Lanes by the end of the year.”
Drivers can access the newly opened western end of the 66 Express Lanes through a variety of entrance and exit points including access from the general purpose lanes at each end of the segment, and via new dedicated ramps at Route 234/Sudley Road, Route 28, and Braddock and Walney Roads. Direct access is also available from two new commuter parking lots at University Boulevard (Gainesville) and Balls Ford Road/Century Park Drive (Manassas), which were built as part of the overall Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project.
Once tolling operations begin, eligible high occupancy vehicles (HOV) with an E-ZPass Flex set to “carpool mode” will be able to travel the 66 Express Lanes toll-free. The express lanes will also be available for motorists who choose to pay a toll, using either E-ZPass or by paying online at Ride66Express.com. In the initial tolling phase of the western segment, vehicles must have two or more occupants to qualify as HOV, and may include carpools, vanpools and commuter buses. Additional information on how to use the 66 Express Lanes can be found at ride66express.com.
The lanes will operate similar to those on I-95, 395, and 495.
We are Democrats, neighbors, and fellow citizens of Prince William County who find ourselves on different sides of an issue that has pitched your fellow landowners along Pageland Lane against a huge majority of residents in the county and surrounding jurisdictions.
We respect the right you and other property owners have to your personal financial interests in this issue, and we had hoped you would show others the same respect.
Trying to manipulate this into a partisan political issue, a racial issue, or an anti-school issue is completely dishonest. Your attempt to cast Hung Cao, the Republican nominee for Congress (Va.-10), as against equal opportunity, property rights, businesses, schools, students, teachers, government employees, and first responders is unhinged.
Your letter to Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, the Planning Commission, and others recasts your differences with Mr. Cao, and the vast majority of County residents, in the most self-serving and disingenuous way imaginable.
And, for the record, you dishonestly characterize a screenshot from an HOA Roundtable email message as being a flyer from the Hung Cao campaign. That is simply untrue and another example of the dishonest public relations campaign you are waging.
Congresswoman Wexton has, herself, conveyed concerns regarding the impacts of such an aggressive expansion of data centers in areas selected primarily for the economic gain of landowners rather than professionally established land use policies that place such facilities where they minimize impacts on surrounding communities.
In her letter of January 25, 2022, to the Prince William BOCS, Congresswoman Wexton stressed former Manassas National Battlefield Park Superintendent Brandon Bies’ concern about ” … the effect of increased traffic, noise pollution, deforestation, and the degradation of park streams and water quality …”
She is right to have those concerns, as is Mr. Cao, and we look forward to continuing to work with both of them on these issues.
As Democrats working alongside Republicans, we are not against data centers, and neither is Mr. Cao. We support the expansion of the commercial tax base to balance the tax burden on every homeowner in Prince William County.
We believe that properly placed data center developments can increase the commercial tax base, but they cannot be placed where the environmental impacts devastate the watershed, where noise makes adjacent homes unlivable, where the property values of homeowners are significantly eroded, and where the current infrastructure simply does not exist for power generation or distribution for more of these new industrial monoliths.
We understand the financial windfall that you and a small number of landowners wish to receive, but you have no right to demand everyone else around you willingly have their property values reduced to enrich your financial position.
When located in appropriate locations in Prince William County, data centers can be a valuable tool to rebalance the tax burden on homeowners. But such impactful industrial development must be implemented with reasonable tax policy comparable to surrounding jurisdictions.
The county absolutely should not give a 60% tax break to the world’s richest corporate entities at the expense of Prince William taxpayers. Once taxed fairly, there is no need for the excess 27 million square feet of industrial data centers the PW Digital Gateway would bring, and the citizens of our county will not be taken to the cleaners for your largesse and that of big tech.
And, as residents representing diverse financial means and employment, we support workers in data centers and the unions that represent them. Adding union representatives to your letter demonstrates clearly how you deliberately mislead others when the real issue is the amount of money you will receive if this self-serving land grab works.
While you claim a desire to expand public open spaces and parks, the gymnastics you are going through to sell a lie that data centers will save the County from a deficit of needed parklands is absurd. Attempting to con the families of Prince William into believing that trails between gargantuan industrial buildings, ringed by security fences, is “hundreds and hundreds of acres of permanent public open space and parks” is laughable.
The PW Digital Gateway is proposed between a National Park and a State Forest. How can you claim to increase parkland while destroying the environs of two major parks in the process?
The truth is, the current view scape of the Manassas National Battlefield Park (MNBP) will be destroyed forever by the proposed data center corridor on Pageland Lane, and the Rural Crescent that has been the most effective land use tool ever enacted in the state will be demolished. A four-lane divided industrial highway will become the highly dreaded Bi-County Parkway that even the Board of County Supervisors has removed from any planning document precisely because of its negative impacts on the entire county.
Your characterization of the Rural Crescent as stealing your property rights 23 years ago is a convenient recast of history for you and some of your neighbors when just two years ago, you personally extolled the virtues of the Rural Crescent when the Bi-County Parkway would have significantly reduced your property values.
You publicly argued that the Bi-County Parkway would just be a way to expand housing developments in Loudoun County that would threaten the Rural Crescent designation in Prince William County.
You fought for the Rural Crescent then, and in the blink of an eye, you condemn it as a segregationist relic. That’s a convenient 11th-hour conversion to line your pockets with millions at the expense of an entire culture that actually suffered through the worst of our nation’s history. Some of us stood together with you and fought for the protection of the Rural Crescent.
You are on record – and we can roll the videotape of media conferences.
Further, you supported the previous Board Chair, who frightened people of color by advocating for the 287(g) migrant enforcement policy with ICE. Only now, when millions are at stake, have you chosen to embrace equity and inclusion, in name but not in practice.
What is true today is that you and your neighbors have found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to hit the land-sale lottery because a group of large multi-national data center companies is willing to pay a high premium for the land where the siting of data centers serves their economic interests, not the interests of the communities and homeowners impacted by those decisions.
None of those data center companies would have even thought to promote the historic and environmentally vulnerable Pageland corridor without your personal promotion. Don’t try to make this about anyone else benefitting other than you and a small number of your neighbors.
Those who oppose the PW Digital Gateway are not exclusively “Republicans,” and the fact that a congressional candidate from the Republican Party has recognized the importance of this issue and its impacts on the MNBP, the Occoquan watershed that serves a large portion of the Northern Virginia homes, and the national security interests at Ft. Belvoir, makes it far more than a local land use issue.
The HOA Roundtable, whose email image you intentionally misused, is made up of tens of thousands of homeowners of all political stripes who have one common objective: Protect our homes, our communities, and our quality of life. Your cynical attempt to make this a Republican vs. Democratic issue is plainly dishonest.
Neither Hung Cao nor Prince William County Republicans are against expanding the commercial tax base in Prince William County, and they fully support Prince William County Schools, its students, teachers, employees, and first responders every bit as much as you do. As part of a strong bipartisan coalition, we all support the property rights of landowners – including our land and homes – and the right we have to protect our property values from personally exploitative decisions that benefit a small number of people at the expense of hundreds of thousands of homeowners.
Finally, you argue that your vision for data centers will result in “billions in investments.” Responsible land-use and tax policy will deliver the very same results, without the devastating impacts of the improperly placed data center corridor you are promoting for your own economic benefit.
Hung Cao sees through your selfish ambitions and, like us, knows you are far from the self-styled virtuous protector of Prince William County’s future.
We appreciate Mr. Cao and his principled stand on the PW Digital Gateway. His views represent courage and commitment emblematic of the dedicated service he selflessly gave to the nation during his storied military career. We thank him for supporting us as we work to prevent Prince William from being bulldozed into a vast industrial zone.
Sincerely,
Prince William County Democrats:
- Deshundra Jefferson, Treasurer of the Potomac Democratic Committee
- Ruth Balton, Former Chair of the Gainesville Magisterial District Democratic Committee
- Bill Wright, Former Treasurer of the Gainesville Magisterial District Democratic Committee
- Roger Yackel, Gainesville District Resident
- Sue Yackel, Gainesville District Resident
- Erik Brown, Gainesville District Resident
- Brigette Wilson, Gainesville District Resident
- James Ryan, Gainesville District Resident
- Jacqueline Ryan, Gainesville District Resident
- Elena Schlossberg, Executive Director, Coalition to Protect PWC, Gainesville District Resident
- Paula Daly, Board of Directors HOA Roundtable of Prince William County, Member Gainesville Citizens for Smart Growth
Opponents of data centers will hold a protest outside the Prince Wiliam County Government Center.
Drivers on Prince William Parkway should see the protesters at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 13, at the county government center, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
The Prince William County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the controversial Prince William Digital Gateway project.
The project aims to convert open space next to the Manassas National Battlefield into data centers. Three applicants have filed rezoning applications for the area, which would rezone more than 800 acres from agricultural and estate land to an area zoned for technology/flex space.
Data centers are server farms that power the internet, typically two-to-three-story warehouse-type buildings. In recent years, data center firms like Amazon, QTS, and Iron Mountain have built server farms outside Manassas, Haymarket, and Gainesville due to cheaper land costs, access to fiber data lines, and water.
Since June 2021, land planners at the Prince William County Government have been evaluating the proposed Digital Gateway Project, which would convert 27 estates on Pageland lane to land on which data centers may be built.
Many property owners, including the Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, banned together to sell their property to data center firms. Supporters of the project say the new centers will generate millions in tax revenue for county government coffers, build new schools, and hire new police officers and fire and rescue personnel.
The project’s detractors say the buildings are too close to Manassas National Battlefield, the site of two of the first skirmishes of the Civil War. They also say the paving over the landscape will negatively affect the region’s groundwater and that noise emitted from the machinery on the top of the centers will make for unbearable living conditions for those with nearby homes.
The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. during the Planning Commission meeting at the McCoart Building, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge.
The first phase of a $3.7 billion project to add toll lanes to Interstate 66 will open during the weekend of Saturday, September 10.
Project leaders have yet to announce the exact opening date. Crews are working to make the final preparations for opening after five years of construction.
The nine-mile western stretch of the E-ZPass Express Lanes spans from Route 29 in Gainesville east to Route 28 in Centreville. The lanes feature multiple new ramps providing access to and from the E-ZPass lanes. The remaining 13 miles of new E-ZPass lanes on I-66 between Route 28 and I-495 (the Capital Beltway) should open in December 2022.
Drivers will access the western end of the tolled E-ZPass lanes through various points. Drivers traveling east on I-66 will merge onto the E-ZPass lanes from the non-tolled travel lanes before Route 29 in Gainesville or use a slip ramp further east at Route 234 Business near Manassas.
Drivers traveling west on I-66 will be able to access the Express Lanes from the general-purpose lanes before Route 28.
Drivers will also have direct access from new dedicated ramps at Route 234/Sudley Road, Route 28, and Braddock and Walney Roads, as well as access from two new commuter parking lots at University Boulevard in Gainesville and Century Park Drive near Manassas, which were built as part of the overall “Transform 66 Outside the Beltway” project.
Drivers will also have direct access from new dedicated ramps at Route 234/Sudley Road, Route 28, and Braddock and Walney roads, as well as access from two new commuter parking lots at University Boulevard and Century Park Drive, which were built as part of the overall “Transform 66 Outside the Beltway” project.
All drivers must have an E-ZPass transponder to use the lanes. Drivers with E-ZPass Flex transponders set to carpool mode can travel the new E-ZPass lanes for free.
During the initial opening phase, vehicles using carpool mode must have three or two occupants in the car to use the lanes for free or face fines. When the remainder of the lanes open, we expect the rules to change, requiring three or more occupants to ride free.
The road rules are the same as E-ZPass lanes on Interstates 95, 395, and 495 in Northern Virginia. Signs will display toll prices near the entrances of the lanes.
Carpools, vanpools, and commuter buses with E-ZPass Flex transponders will use the lanes free.
The new lane segment is opening ahead four months ahead of schedule.
“We are pleased to join our 66 Express Lanes project partners in opening the first segment of one of Virginia’s largest megaprojects ahead of schedule,” said VDOT Commissioner Stephen Brich. “By opening the western segment of the new 66 Express Lanes early, we are able to start delivering congestion relief to I-66 travelers sooner than originally planned.”
The Transform I-66 Express Lanes Outside the Beltway project provides 22.5 miles of new express lanes (two lanes in each direction alongside three regular lanes), with dedicated express lane access ramps, and median space reserved for future transit.
In addition, the project will provide 4,000 commuter parking spaces, new and expanded commuter bus service on the Fairfax County Connector and Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission Omniride buses, safety and operational improvements at key interchanges, auxiliary lanes between interchanges, and bicycle and pedestrian paths and connections.
Drivers should expect possible delays now through Sunday on I-66 West between Manassas and Gainesville.
On Wednesday, August 31, crews erected a long-term closure of the left travel lane, which will be in place around-the-clock through Saturday, September 10. The left lane closure will reduce this section of westbound I-66 to three travel lanes from west of Route 234 Business (Sudley Road) near Groveton Road to Route 29 (Lee Highway) in Gainesville.
Additional lane closures will occur in this area during the overnight hours, says VDOT. These lane closures will allow crews to complete work for this section of roadway in preparation for the opening of the future 66 Express Lanes Outside the Beltway later this year.
Drivers should always use caution and pay attention to lane markings and roadway signs in construction zones. All work is weather dependent and will be rescheduled if inclement conditions occur.
The Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project will add E-ZPass Express toll lanes to a 22-and-a-half-mile stretch of I-66 from Route 29 in Gainesville to I-495. Improvements also include more than 4,000 new park-and-ride spaces, improved bus services, interchange improvements, and 11 miles of new bike and pedestrian trails.
The new lanes are expected to open in December after five years of construction.
Police in Prince William County were called to investigate two incidents involving alcohol. One person locked herself in a bathroom at a car dealership and refused to leave, police said.
Another exposed himself to drivers in Gainesville, police said.
Here’s more from Prince William police:
Assault & Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer [LEO] – On August 5 at 9:26AM, officers responded to T and C Auto Sales located at 18405 Richmond Hwy. in Triangle (22172) to investigate a patron refusing to leave.
When officers arrived at the business, they located the patron, later identified as the accused, inside the restroom refusing to leave. After several attempts to have the accused exit the restroom, officers obtained a key from the manager and gained entry.
When officers attempted to take the accused into custody, she actively resisted and refused to follow officer’s commands. During the encounter, the accused bit and kicked the officers. After a brief struggle, the accused was taken into custody.
While investigating the incident, officers determined the accused was intoxicated and in possession of multiple illegal substances. The officer reported minor injuries.
Following the investigation, the accused, identified as Tara Lin GILL, was arrested.
Arrested on August 5:
Tara Lin GILL, 36, of no fixed address
Charged with 1 count of assault & battery on LEO, 2 counts of possession of a controlled substance, 1 count of obstruction of justice, 1 count of intoxicated in public, and 1 count of trespassing
Court Date: Pending | Bond: $6,000 Unsecured Bond– On August 7 at 6:57PM, officers responded to the 14700 block Lee Hwy. in Gainesville (20155) to investigate an indecent exposure.
When officers arrived in the area, they made contact with a man matching the description provided to police. While investigating, officers determined the man, later identified as the accused, was intoxicated, and detained him.
The investigation revealed the victim, a 32-year-old woman, was in the parking lot of the above area when she observed the accused inside a vehicle exposing himself and making obscene gestures. The victim immediately contacted the police.
Following the investigation, the accused, identified as Robert Edward LATIMER II, was arrested.
Arrested on August 7:
Robert Edward LATIMER II, 40, of 4398 Ringwood Rd. in Nokesville Charged with indecent exposure and intoxicated in public
Court Date: Pending | Bond: Held WITHOUT Bond
By Tom Coyle
Bristow
It seems clear to us that, as a group, our local elected leaders in Prince William County appear to be struggling to make decisions regarding the long-term strategic use of a scarce resource — our land.
Such land use decisions are critical to ensuring our county will be one that continues to attract new residents and new businesses and retains the current attributes that attracted current residents to move here.
The single issue of large data centers in proximity to residences is a complex one that crosses into hotly debated topics such as taxable revenue, open space and zoning use, and increased pressure to balance green space use and residential growth.
Although the various zoning laws, layover grids, etc., can be confusing and even contradictory, what’s clear is that no one, either elected or County Staff, seems to have heard of Moore’s Law. And if they have, they have failed to take it into account as it applies to these large buildings now popping up throughout our county, large parts of which are rural or semi-rural.
Moore’s Law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore’s Law is an observation and projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of physics, it is an empirical relationship linked to gains from experience in production.
It is understood the interior of these centers consists mainly of computer servers and racks, which, if we apply Moore’s Law, will shrink in size and thus need less space to operate. What happens in 10 or 20 years when the requirement for these 500,000 square foot buildings is no more? What incentive can our county offer a private company to continue to occupy a space that is not needed in order to operate and make a profit?
Why would they wish to occupy a 500,000 sqaure-foot space when, due to said law, they would only need a quarter or less of that space? Who do the citizens then turn to to raze the building and restore the area to its original nature?
All the extra tax monies from these centers will not make up for the permanent scarring of our county. Why can’t we analyze best practices from other municipalities around the country and then apply the best of those to use as a framework?
Has any elected official, or county staff, examined the second and third-order effects of approving the construction of these buildings and thus degrading one significant reason citizens move to Pricne William – high quality of life
We implore our county-elected leaders to slow down and demand a thoughtful, factual review of these proposals from staff. If we don’t have the expertise in-house, then hire a well-respected national company to conduct it.
There is no rush to carefully consider all aspects of this issue, given the lasting impact it will have for years to come. Perceived short-term gains (more money in our county coffers) we believe defines false economy and reminds us of the family cat being happily distracted by that new shiny object right in front of her to the exclusion of anything else.
We hope the elected leaders in Prince William County will reflect for a moment on why they ran for office in the first place: to help enrich the lives of the citizens they serve by thoughtful and informed decisions affecting all of us for generations to come.
According to the National Weather Service, we’re under flood watch beginning at 3 p.m.
…FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS
EVENING…* WHAT…Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
* WHERE…DC and portions of Maryland and Virginia, including the
following areas: the District of Columbia. In Maryland, Anne
Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Central and Southeast Howard, Central
and Southeast Montgomery, Charles, Frederick MD, Northern
Baltimore, Northwest Harford, Northwest Howard, Northwest
Montgomery, Prince Georges, Southeast Harford, Southern Baltimore
and St. Marys. In Virginia, Albemarle, Arlington/Falls
Church/Alexandria, Culpeper, Eastern Loudoun, Fairfax, Greene,
King George, Madison, Nelson, Northern Fauquier, Orange, Prince
William/Manassas/Manassas Park, Rappahannock, Southern Fauquier,
Spotsylvania, Stafford and Western Loudoun.* WHEN…From 3 PM EDT this afternoon through this evening.
* IMPACTS…Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers,
creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…
– Showers and thunderstorms will develop this afternoon and may
last into the evening. Any thunderstorms will be capable of
producing very heavy rainfall, with localized totals of two
to four inches possible. Much of the rain may fall within a
one to three hour period, making rapid rises in creeks and
streams possible, as well as flash flooding in urban areas.
– http://www.weather.gov/safety/floodPRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action
should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
Here’s the full forecast:
This Afternoon
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 92. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Low around 73. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. South wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
