VDOT AND HOT LANES CONTRACTOR RESPOND TO COMMUNITY CONCERNS ABOUT BALLS HILL ROAD STAGING AREA

Officials of the Virginia Department of Transportation and the design contractor for the Beltway Hot Lanes Project have agreed to measures that address community concerns about a construction staging area being built near the intersection of the Beltway and Route 193 (Georgetown Pike).

At a meeting at the office of Dranesville Supervisor John Foust on June 5, Delegate Margaret Vanderhye, State Senator Janet Howell, and Foust negotiated with officials from VDOT and HOT Lanes contractor Fluor/Transurban over how to improve the appearance of the site and protect the neighborhood and nearby Cooper Middle School from disruption due to activity associated with the staging area.  The contractors and VDOT agreed to several significant concessions requested by Howell, Vanderhye and Foust.

“The purpose of the site will primarily be as a command and control center,” explained Delegate Vanderhye.  “VDOT vehicles will enter and leave the area via the Beltway exit ramp, not through Balls Hill Road.”

The Balls Hill entrance to the site will only be used by a dozen or so managers and clerical staff who will work in trailers on the site, according to Steve Titunik of VDOT.

Foust added, “It is important that the site not be used for storage of large equipment or construction materials.  We continue to seek a commitment that the area will not become a default site for major construction activity.”

The local officials are also requesting that lighting and evening activities be designed and controlled so that they do not adversely affect the quality of life of the residents in the neighboring homes.

Fluor/Transurban also agreed to construct an eight foot high wooden privacy fence set back at least 80 feet from Georgetown Pike and 60 feet from Balls Hill Road.  The original design called for the site to be surrounded by a shorter chain link fence.

“Once the fence has been erected, VDOT will begin reforestation around the perimeter,” explained Vanderhye, who inspected the site with VDOT officials after the June 5^th meeting.  “This will immediately improve the visual character of the site and be a down-payment on returning the area to its natural state once construction is completed.”

The reforestation will consist of a landscaped green buffer of foundation plantings and small trees along the fence line.  A four season green space will be created that is in keeping with the landscaping near Cooper Middle School and the surrounding community.

Efforts to find an alternative location for the staging area were unsuccessful.  Titunik explained that VDOT’s policy is to use property it owns within existing rights-of-way.  There will be nineteen staging areas within the HOT lanes project corridor, which will extend from Springfield to just beyond the Dulles Toll Road.

“We have directed VDOT to provide more consistent prior communication about developments at the site and along the HOT lanes corridor generally,” said Vanderhye.  “We cannot allow the benefits of the project, such as promotion of high speed bus transit and the replacement of aging bridges and other infrastructure, to be overshadowed by poor planning and inadequate consideration of the concerns of the people who will have to live through years of project construction.”

Supervisor Foust’s office has scheduled a meeting for rEpresentatives of the school, effected neighborhoods, and the McLean Citizens Association to meet with VDOT and Fluor/Transurban to discuss development and use of the site. The meeting will take place on June 20 at 9am at the Dranesville Governmental Center Community Room. 

“Senator Howell, Delegate Vanderhye and I will continue working with the HOT lanes partners to mitigate the impact of this location as a staging area for the HOT lanes project,” said Foust.  “We welcome the concerns, suggestions and participation of the effected residents.”