Engineers will work on designing a planned Van Buren Road extension near Dumfries.

The four-lane extension will bridge the gap between Route 234 near and Cardinal Drive in Dale City. The two-and-half-mile extension will have a concrete median and be designated a significant collector route for drivers who want to avoid traveling on Interstate 95 or Route 1.

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The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office states it will not release the name of a man its deputies shot and killed on Saturday, December 16, 2023.

“This is still an active investigation, and we do not currently have any further information to release. Out of respect for the family and their request, the victim’s name will not be released at this time,” sheriff’s spokesman Ryan Wilbur told us.

A string of questions we sent to the department about this story have gone unanswered.

The sheriff’s office closed a portion of Route 1 at Bells Hill Road for 14 hours as it investigated the incident.

Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur will begin his third term on January 1, 2024.

Here’s the department’s incident issued on December 16, 2023:

At 12:20 a.m., deputies responded to a disturbance in the 2400 block of Richmond Highway (Route 1).  As deputies made contact with the complainant, an adult male resident of the home brandished a rifle towards the deputies.  Deputies repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon, but he failed to comply.  Deputies fired their weapons, and the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene.

There were no other injuries at the scene, and southbound Richmond Highway was closed this morning for the investigation. Deputies are on routine administrative leave while the case is investigated.

Regional transit providers OmniRide and Virginia Railway Express will modify services for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

In observance of the holidays, OmniRide buses will operate as follows:

OmniRide Local and Prince William Metro Express bus services (Eastern PWC routes) will operate regular Sunday service on Christmas Eve, Sunday 12/24

All OmniRide bus services – no service on Christmas Day, Monday 12/25

All OmniRide bus services – will operate as normally scheduled, Tuesday 12/26

OmniRide Local and Prince William Metro Express bus services (Eastern PWC routes) will operate regular Sunday service on New Year’s Eve, Sunday 12/31

All OmniRide bus services – no service on New Year’s Day, Monday, 1/1

OmniRide Express bus service – will operate as normally scheduled, Tuesday, 1/2

The Transit Center lobby will be closed, but Customer Service will be available by phone and email on Sunday, December 24 and Sunday, December 31.

OmniRide Local passengers wishing to schedule an off-route trip for Tuesday, December 26th should call Customer Service by 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 24th.

For off-route trips on Tuesday, January 2, call by 4:30 p.m. December 31.

OmniRide provides commuter bus service for residents in Prince William, Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties, as well as local transit services for people in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

Meanwhile, VRE will not run trains on Christmas, Monday, December 25, 2023, or New Year’s Day, Monday, January 1, 2024. The commuter railroad will run half its regular schedule from Tuesday, December 26 to Friday, December 29, 2023, running trains on an “S” schedule.

VRE doesn’t operate trains on the weekends yet. As we told you on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, the commuter railroad’s operations board approved its 2025 budget, and in it, for the first time in the railroad’s 31-year history, is a plan for Saturday service on both the Fredericksburg and Manassas lines.

 

In what Virginia Railway Express management called the first step in transforming the state’s only commuter railroad, the VRE Operations Board approved its Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

The spending plan attempts to increase lagging ridership and includes Saturday service to Washington, D.C., for the first time since the railroad began operations in 1992. Three round-trip trains will operate on the system's Fredericksburg and Manassas lines. Trains will travel northbound to the capital city in the morning and return south in the evening.

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The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents.

“Ford T. Humphrey Public Safety Building, 1225 Courthouse Road, 12/16, 11:42 p.m. Deputy C.R. Newman responded to a suspicious vehicle call. The caller advised they were being followed by another vehicle. Deputy Newman located the vehicle in front of the Sheriff’s Office and made contact with the driver. The driver had signs of being intoxicated and admitted to consuming tequila prior to driving. He was arrested for driving under the influence and was held at Rappahannock Regional Jail until sober.”

“Target, 25 South Gateway Drive, 12/15, 7:58 p.m. Deputy B.M. Taylor responded to an unknown problem. The caller advised there was a male asleep behind the wheel in the parking lot. When Deputy Taylor arrived, she observed the suspect actively huffing behind the wheel. The suspect had multiple empty canisters used for huffing, as well as, admitted to consuming alcohol earlier. The driver was charged with driving under the influence second offense within five years, and inhaling chemicals. He was held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.”

“Wawa, 860 Richmond Highway, 12.16, 7:01 p.m. Deputy A.T. Leckemby responded to a drunk driver complaint. The caller advised the suspect vehicle was all over the roadway and nearly caused a few accidents. Deputy Leckemby located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The driver, who was carrying a concealed firearm, admitted to consuming beer prior to driving. The driver was charged with driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content between .15 and .2, the traffic lane violations, as well as, possession of a concealed weapon while intoxicated. He was held at Rappahannock Regional Jail until sober.”

Updated 3:30 p.m. — “At 12:20 a.m., deputies responded to a disturbance in the 2400 block of Richmond Highway (Route 1).  As deputies made contact with the complainant, an adult male resident of the home brandished a rifle towards the deputies.  Deputies repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon, but he failed to comply.  Deputies fired their weapons, and the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene,” Stafford Sheriff’s Office reports.

“There were no other injuries at the scene, and southbound Richmond Highway was closed this morning for the investigation. Deputies are on routine administrative leave while the case is investigated,” it adds. 

One lane of Route 1 south in the shooting area is now open as of 2:40 p.m., VDOT reports. Authorities closed the southbound portion of the road following the shooting.

Original post 7:47 a.m. — Route 1 south at Austin Run Boulevard Ridge Drive in Stafford County is closed.

Stafford Sheriff’s tells us: “At 12:20 a.m., deputies responded to the 2400 block of Richmond Highway for a disturbance.  As a result of the incident, southbound Richmond Highway is closed for the entire Wayside, from Bells Hill Road and Coal Landing Road to Bells Hill Road and Hope Road.  Please use an alternate route.”

From VDOT at 6 a.m.: “Route 1 southbound is closed near Austin Run Boulevard in Stafford County due to police activity. “Southbound Route 1 traffic is being detoured at Bells Hill Road, where travelers can rejoin Route 1 southbound. They also are being detoured at Coal Landing Road where travelers will take Greenridge Drive to Olde Concord Road to Hope Road where travelers can rejoin Route 1 southbound. Route 1 southbound is anticipated to be closed for an extended period.”

VDOT: “To help make end-of-year holiday travel more enjoyable, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will be suspending many highway work zones and lifting most lane closures on interstates and other major roads in Virginia from noon on Friday, Dec. 22 until noon on Tuesday, Dec. 26 and from noon on Friday, Dec. 29 until noon on Tuesday, Jan. 2.”

“While lane closures will be lifted in most locations, motorists may encounter semi-permanent work zones that remain in place during this time. Check VDOT’s Travel Advisories for the latest travel alerts in your area and around the state.”

Stafford County Sherrif David Decatur discussed the possibility of introducing traffic cameras and speed cameras to his deputies’ traffic enforcement toolkit.

During a meeting of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee today, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English voiced concerns brought to him by residents who say speeding is out of control along a seven-mile stretch of Route 17, from the Fauquier County line to a Walmart on Village Lakes Parkway.

He suggested traffic cameras might help change the behaviors of drivers who speed. While he supports using technology for traffic enforcement to curb speeding, Decatur said there is no evidence that it will.

“I don’t have factual information on that,” Decatur told supervisors. “In some cases, it’s better to have a deputy there in person conducting traffic enforcement.”

The state allows counties to erect speed cameras near schools and highway work zones and use red light cameras to reduce traffic crashes by stopping red-light runners. Decatur said the sheriff’s office should identify which areas would suit each type of camera and report back to supervisors in Spring 2024.

Prince William County just conducted a similar study and is behind schedule on rolling out its new speed camera program. The cameras record violations and a private vendor hired by the county would send a notice of violation to the vehicle owner. The law sheriff’s department must sign off on the violation before it is mailed.

Overall, Decatur said there is a need to change public behavior regarding law enforcement. He blamed police agencies in Northern Virginia which have instituted “no chase” polices when suspects flee police. “It’s ridiculous how many people run from us. Those jurisdictions don’t chase them, and they end up coming here,” said Decatur.

Also, during the meeting, Rockhill District Supervisor Crystal Vanuch asked Decatur if he would consider charging a fee to funeral homes that ask the sheriff’s office for escorts for funeral processions from mortuaries to cemeteries.

“If we charge for it, then it’s a cost that [funeral homes] will pass along to the families. I’m not charging anyone for an escort. You can forget that, and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Fredericksburg area commuters have three more options for the trip up Interstate 95, including launching three new OmniRide Express buses to the Pentagon, Arlington, and the State Department in Washington, D.C.

The buses are fully funded by the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and they will provide a commuting option for residents south of the newly extended I-95 Express Lanes. It’s the first time since OmniRide’s founding in 1986 that it has provided service to Spotsylvania County and southern Stafford County, bolstering the agency’s status as a regional bus operator.

“Today is a great example of DRPT’s mission in action,” said Todd Horsley, the Alternate PRTC Commissioner at the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Commonwealth Drive Commuter Lot in Spotsylvania County.

For the next month, riders may use the new bus lines for free. After January 12, there will be a $9 one-way fee.

The I-95 E-Z Pass Express Lanes helped make it all possible, said Perrin Palistrant, the director of planning and service delivery at OmniRide. “Without the express lanes, it would have been difficult to facilitate this.”

The express lanes on I-95, I-495, and I-66 are toll lanes that are free for vehicles with three or more passengers. This is to facilitate carpooling and buses, reducing the overall number of cars on these roads.

Officials looked at the growth in the Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and Fredericksburg, so they put in an overall order for 29 new buses to serve those counties.

Some of those buses were replacing older buses. They were paid for as part of a $21 million funding arrangement with Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board.

The buses each have 57 seats, and each set of seats has access to a set of plugs so the riders can charge their electronic devices or work during the ride.

The Commonwealth Drive lot is one of several park-and-ride lots in the I-95 corridor that commuters use to catch buses or carpools. The park and ride lot at Horner Road in Prince William County is the most popular VDOT lot, followed by the lot at Route 234.

Officials expect this Fredericksburg area lot to get a lot more use soon.

Here are the new lines:

• Bus 541 – Stafford to Washington (State Dept) express
• Bus 923 – Spotsylvania – Navy Yard express
• Bus 932 – Falmouth – Pentagon/Rosslyn/Ballston/ Crystal City express

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported HOV rules for the I-66 E-ZPass Express Lanes.