Officials gathered to establish a new parking garage serving Virginia Railway Express riders and downtown Manassas Park visitors.
The new garage will be built on the north side of the railroad tracks, opposite the current Manassas Park VRE station parking lot. During a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, July 13, 2023, City Manager Laszlo Palko said the garage would be the "core" of the city's new downtown, which will feature a new movie theater, Jirani Coffeeshop, in addition to a new city hall and a public library which opened a year ago.
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Virginia State Police: “Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal crash in Prince William County. The crash occurred July 15, 2023, at 10:31 p.m. on Interstate 95 at the 149-mile marker (Dumfries). A 2022 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was traveling south on I-95 in heavy rain when it ran off the left side of the interstate. Its operator was thrown from the vehicle.”
“The motorcyclist, Ronald G. Giscombe Jr., 50, of Palm Bay, Fla., died at the scene. He was wearing a helmet. The crash remains under investigation.”
The bridge is part of a $55 million interchange being constructed where three roads meet: Brentsville Road, the parkway, and Dumfries Road, leading to Downtown Manassas.
"The Traffic safety team is working closely with our project team on the traffic shift. We will provide additional details on [Monday, July 17, 2023]," said Paolo Belita with the Prince William County Transportation Department.
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With the region’s elected officials gathering at their annual retreat this Friday and Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth continued to urge reform of the region’s transportation priorities.
A national poll of 2001 voters (90% of whom are drivers) released last week by Transportation for America revealed that two-thirds of Americans know highway expansions don’t cure traffic. Sixty-seven percent of American voters polled agreed that widening highways attract more people to drive, which creates more traffic in the long run, defeating the stated purpose for countless road expansion projects across the country.
In short, the public understands that “induced demand” is real, even if they are not aware of the term itself. Today, when officials in the DC region are planning for at least 900 more lane miles of highway and arterial road expansion and amid the ongoing debate over high-occupancy toll lanes for 495/270 in Maryland and 495 through Alexandria, the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) urged officials to reconsider these plans. “CSG’s Induced Demand fact sheet for local, regional, and state officials – released today – makes clear the failures of road expansion,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
“Induced demand is the widely documented phenomenon in which widening major roads and highways results in more driving (vehicle miles traveled) that generally cancels out any congestion-reduction benefits in as little as five to ten years,” said Bill Pugh, Senior Policy Fellow for CSG and author of the fact sheet which draws upon numerous national and international studies and includes local DC area examples.
“Unfortunately, elected officials in the DC region continue to propose over 900 lane miles of major road expansion and continue to ignore the reality that it won’t work,” said Schwartz. “They will end up wasting billions of tax dollars and make our quality of life worse, not better.”
The Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board is currently developing its Visualize 2050 regional “constrained” long-range transportation plan1 (the existing 2045 plan includes 900 lane miles in road expansion), and in Northern Virginia right now, counties and cities are submitting project applications for funding through the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
CSG has previously shown in its “On the Wrong Road” report that the NVTAuthority’s “unconstrained” Transaction 2050 plan would add 1000 lane miles of roads in Northern Virginia alone and induce growth in driving at 1.5 to 3 times the rate of population growth in the outer suburbs. The NVTAuthority has allocated over half of its regional funding to road capacity expansion projects, even though the agency’s own Technology Strategic Plan acknowledges the reality of induced demand.
Stewart Schwartz
Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
Editors note: Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].
Stafford County Sheriff’s Office: “On July 13th at approximately 1:51 p.m. Deputy McAlister was in the area of Kings Highway and Cool Springs Road when the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to a vehicle pursuit. It was advised the King George County Sheriff’s Office was pursuing a vehicle, and that vehicle was about to enter Stafford County.”
“Deputy McAlister predicted the suspect vehicle would be heading towards the Kings Highway and Little Street intersection. He responded to the intersection and got ready to deploy his stinger, commonly referred to as spike strips. In a matter of moments, the speeding vehicle headed the exact route Deputy McAlister predicted, putting him in perfect position.”
“Deputy McAlister deployed his stinger and it was successful in puncturing the suspect’s vehicle tire. The suspect vehicle continued to Leonard Road where that tire gave out, essentially bringing the pursuit to a stop.”
“The investigation revealed the driver of a 2011 Honda Odyssey was traveling east on Somerset Crossing Way approaching the intersection with Forkland Way when the vehicle struck a pedestrian who was in the crosswalk. Fire and rescue personnel responded to the scene where the pedestrian was pronounced deceased.”
“The driver of the striking vehicle remained at the scene. Speed, alcohol, or drug use were not factors in the collision with the driver of the vehicle. The investigation continues.”
Identified:
The deceased pedestrian was identified as Chyi MAO, 72, of Gainesville
The driver of the 2011 Honda Odyssey was identified as a 77-year-old woman of Gainesville
Virginia Department of Transportation: “I-95 Northbound: Â Exit 110 (Ladysmith) to Exit 118 (Thornburg) Sunday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. Alternating lane closures for milling and paving work at mile markers 111 to 112.”
“Exit 130 (Route 3) to Exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) Monday – Wednesday, 10 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Double lane closures at mile markers 132 to 134 for overhead sign erection for 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension construction.”
“Exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) to Exit 143 (Aquia/Garrisonville)
Monday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Single lane closure for guardrail work at mile markers 138 to 139.”
“I-95 Southbound: Exit 140 (Courthouse Road) to Exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) Monday – Tuesday, 9 p.m. – 10 a.m. Single lane closure at mile markers 138 to 137 for overhead sign work for 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension construction.”
“Exit 140 (Courthouse Road) Tuesday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 10 a.m. and Thursday – Friday, 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. and Friday – Saturday, 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. Single lane closure for bridge work.”
“Exit 126 (Spotsylvania) to Exit 118 (Thornburg) Monday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Single and double lane closures at mile markers 125 to 124. Single lane closure begins at 9 p.m. followed by double lane closures at 10 p.m. Construction to replace the Route 17 (Mills Drive) overpass of I-95.”
“Monday – Wednesday, Midnight – 4:30 a.m. Slow roll of traffic with a full, brief traffic stop during these hours at mile markers 125 to 124 to move a construction crane into position. Traffic may be stopped up to a maximum of 30 minutes.”
“Exit 118 (Thornburg) to Exit 110 (Ladysmith) Sunday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. Alternating lane closures for milling and paving work at mile markers 117-116.”
“Stafford County:Â Route 17 Northbound near I-95 Sunday – Friday, 7 p.m. – 6 a.m. Single lane closure between Sanford Drive and Short Street for traffic signal work.”
“Short Street: Monday – Friday, 8 p.m. – 6 a.m. Expect alternating, one-way traffic on Short Street between Route 17 Business and Thomas Lane. Starting at midnight until 3 a.m., Short Street will be closed overnight for pipe replacement. Detour will direct drivers to continue south on Route 17 Business to Olde Forge Drive.”
A map can be found online.
“Spotsylvania County: Route 208 (Courthouse Road) Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Milling and paving between Route 601 (Lawyers Road) and Route 691 (Black Rock Drive) with one-way, alternating traffic, directed by a flagging crew through the work zone.”
“Route 627 (Gordon Road): Sunday – Thursday, 7 p.m. – 6 a.m. Milling and paving between Route 3 and Smith Station Road with one-way, alternating traffic, directed by a flagging crew through the work zone.”
“Pamunkey Road: Sunday – Thursday, 7 p.m. – 6 a.m. and Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Milling and paving between Post Oak Road and W. Catharpin Road with one-way, alternating traffic, directed by a flagging crew through the work zone.
“Route 608 (Massaponax Church Road): Will be closed to through traffic between Hickory Ridge Road and Burrell Drive for a pipe replacement on Monday, July 10 through Thursday, July 13, weather permitting. The road will be closed with a posted detour between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on these four consecutive days. Signs will guide motorists along the recommended detour route, which includes: Hickory Ridge Road, Route 1 and Massaponax Church Road.”
“The pipe replacement has been scheduled to occur before upcoming paving on Massaponax Church Road later this year. The road will be paved from Route 1 to Hickory Ridge Road during 2023, with specific work dates to be announced.”
Virignia Railway Express: “Due to this morning’s incident involving an Amtrak train just south of Union Station, VRE service will continue to be impacted tomorrow. Train traffic is still suspended going into and out of Union Station, and we still are unable to retrieve our train equipment from the coachyard north of Union Station. This evening, we used the five train sets that had not entered the coachyard this morning to run as much service as possible. We plan to do the same for Wednesday, July 12 tomorrow morning.”
“Please note that trains will not be able to enter Union Station tomorrow morning, so they will terminate at the L’Enfant Station. We plan to run ONLY the following trains to the L’Enfant Station tomorrow morning:”
Fredericksburg Line:
-Train 302 departs Spotsylvania at 5:06 a.m.
-Train 308 departs Spotsylvania at 6:01 a.m.
-Train 312 departs Spotsylvania at 7:06 a.m.
Manassas Line
-Train 324 departs Broad Run at 5:21 a.m.
-Train 328 departs Broad Run at 6:16 a.m.
-Train 332 departs Broad Run at 8:01 a.m.
The following trains will NOT run tomorrow morning:
-Fredericksburg Line trains 300, 304, 306, 310 and 314
-Manassas Line Trains 322, 326, 330, and 321
Potomac Local News received photos of a double-fatal crash on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, on Interstate 95 in Stafford County.
First responders described the crash involving a tractor-trailer and two cars as a “horrible” scene.
Virginia State Police: “The crash occurred Wednesday (July 5) at 4:42 a.m. on Interstate 95 at the 136-mile marker.”
“A 2022 Freightliner tractor-trailer was traveling northbound in the center lane when it attempted to change lanes into the right lane and collided with a northbound 2014 Nissan Altima. The impact caused both vehicles to veer into the left lane where they collided with a northbound 2010 Subaru Forrester. All three vehicles continued off the left side of the roadway and collided with the guardrail before the tractor-trailer overturned on top of the Nissan and Subaru.”
“The driver of the Nissan, Johnathon L. Booth, 50, of Fredericksburg, VA, died at the scene of the crash due to his injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt.”
“The driver of the Subaru, Kevin M. Paddeu, 67, of Quinton, VA, died at the scene of the crash due to his injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt.”
“The driver of the tractor-trailer, Wheelman G. Andrews, 58, of Carrollton, VA, suffered minor injuries in the crash and was transported to Mary Washington Hospital for treatment. He was wearing a seatbelt.”
“Andrews was later taken into custody and charged with reckless driving. He was transported to the Spotsylvania Magistrates Office where he was released on an unsecured bond.”
“The tractor-trailer was hauling 78,000 pounds of beer.”
“Anyone with information regarding the crash is encouraged to call Virginia State Trooper A. Roberts at 540-891-4108 or email [email protected]. The crash remains under investigation.”
