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Point being, Route 50 is a rolling gridlock even on Saturday and Sunday morning at 8-9am and it doesn't let up till late afternoon because EVERY light trips red just as the prior cycles to green.
I remember this problem when I used to live in Brambleton and commute to Chantilly every day. They had just installed the light at Tall Cedars, and that alone added an extra 2-3 minutes to the commute because the light synchronization (or lack thereof) was absolutely pathetic. VDOT---Is it really THAT DIFFICULT to synchronize lights?!
Unfortunately, if you look at the VDOT planned expansion for 606 its 2018 at the earliest, that's a fact right from their website. Route 50 will be complete sometime in 2015.
Can you please provide a link to this information. I have looked and looked for this timeline.....thank you.
This has it complete by 2020
Also from another thread:
#2
09-20-2012, 11:26 PM
cdmurphy
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On September 6, Supervisor Matt Letourneau (Dulles District) posted this on his Facebook page:
Quote:
Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors approved a transfer of $500,000--from previous developer proffers--to VDOT for completion of the Route 606 widening design study. The study is being paid for as part of a cost sharing agreement between Loudoun County, MWAA and VDOT. The study is the first step toward getting the road widened--once it is complete, we'll have an actual road design and cost estimate to work with. The study itself has been underway for some time, but more money was needed to finish it. My guess is that the total project will come in around $100 million. There's no timeline and funding is still an open question, but I think we need to have something complete by the time the Route 606 Metro station opens in 2018. I know what a major issue this is for our district and I'm going to continue to do everything in my power to get it done.
Here is the detailed item from the BOS agenda.
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There is a huge difference beteween the traffic in South Riding and Ashburn. It absolutely has affected the home values. I have lived in South Riding for 10 years: the most significant improvement was toll brothers finally living up to their end of the bargian and paving Braddock rd some 6 years ago. Now the urban sprawl is spreading to Gum springs road. Gum springs road has had the same configuration for 40+ years and needs to be widened to 4 lanes for current traffic. Now all this extra traffic will have to come through the overcrowded infrastructure of SR to reach dulles.
Take Brambelton for instance: Built in the last 10 years, has a gym, a nice town center with movie theater and parking garage. Good restraunts, not Ruby Tuesdays as the Prize of the development in South Riding, the town homes of equal age are holding their value way better.
Regarding the Dulles South dining scene, a few updates and recommendations below.
Ford's Fish Shack opened in South Riding this week, Ciro's Ristorante and t'KiLa Latin Kitchen & Bar both in Stone Ridge are excellent, as well as some neat haunts in Chantilly like Willard's.
Chantilly especially has made a significant improvement over the last 12-24 months with additions like Genghis Grill, Hibachi Buffet & Grill, Coffee Smith, Santini's, Noodles & Company, First Watch, and King Pollo.
While Ashburn does have some good restaurants like Clyde's, Ford's, Rubino's, etc. it is far from a Foodie Heaven.
Ford's Fish Shack opened in South Riding this week, Ciro's Ristorante and t'KiLa Latin Kitchen & Bar both in Stone Ridge are excellent, as well as some neat haunts in Chantilly like Willard's.
Ford's wasn't open as of Sunday? Still waiting on the county to issue their license. Do you have confirmation it opened?
I agree that Ciro's and t'Kila are excellent. Also, Rangoli is pretty good Indian food.
Ford's wasn't open as of Sunday? Still waiting on the county to issue their license. Do you have confirmation it opened?
I agree that Ciro's and t'Kila are excellent. Also, Rangoli is pretty good Indian food.
You just missed it Sunday, there was a soft opening yesterday and Monday with a hard opening date of today.
I hear Rangoli is good, though I've never been there. If you like Indian food, check out Saffron Indian Cuisine in Ashburn (Broadlands) they opened recently and their food is excellent. Great lunch buffet there.
Driving this rt 50 everyday to and from chantilly continues to be a brutal task. Potholes, disappearing markings, not enough room for u turns and prepetual backups have made this road construction an absolute disaster. Living in South Riding and the Dulles south area continues to have a low quality of life due to the amount of time spent in traffic from poor planning and supporting infrastructure. The VDOT update video says backups are from 8:30 to 9:30, well news flash, they are from 6:30 to 10:30 am and from 3:30 to 7 pm.
Where is that new wallmart and associated shopping center that is supposed to reduce the number of average daily trips on the roads? Why are all these houses still going up west of 606 without improvement to route 50 west of 606? 3 new lights have been added west of 606 and east of gum springs in a years time without any signal sychronization! At gumsprings road and rt 50 intersection, why are the developers still allowed to construct their homes and businesses before improving the roads FIRST? Why the heck aren't there two turn lanes from west bound 50 onto Gum springs?
Because this intersection is so under capacity, traffic from route 50 is cutting through South Riding and associated communities on Riding Blvd and causing huge back ups west bound on Braddock to Gumsprings in the evenings. Therefore, Braddock Rd and Gum springs intersection is under capicity for the increased cut through traffic flow to the new homes further to the west on Braddock. Reverse of this in the mornings, tall ceadars pkwy carries traffic east to Pleasant Valley where it cuts off the back up from all the unsychronized lights on 50.
When the route 50 6 lane expansion is complete, there will be little change in the traffic due to the increased residential population that has occured from the project's start in 2011 until the completion in 2015. As someone who drives this daily, I don't see how 2 dumptrucks and a landscaping truck w/ trailer at a 3 lane stop light in one direction accelerate any faster than 2 dumptrucks at a stoplight. By virtue of another lane there will be more cars travelling through the same point, but traffic during peak hours will never be free flowing due to the mix of vehicles being skued towards the industrial quarry and cement trucks. Throw in school busses, minivans, and landscape trucks, and you have a ticket to nowhere.
My gut engineering says this should have been 8 lanes to make any measurable difference unless the traffic lights and intersections were consolidated, which they are not. If you look at the final alignment at the east bound intersection of the Fairfax plesant valley road, there is no longer an acceleration lane from the right turns at plesant valley. That is a huge miss in the design of this project. While I don't blame VDOT for the slow construction from Shirley who is behind on mutiple projects, I think the designers have underestimated the effect of the industrial trucks use bogging down traffic on the road.
Still, I'll be thankful when this brutal construction phase is over and 4 lanes of traffic doesn't have to squeeze on the 3 lane future east bound bridge. Hopefully the different construction of west bound bridge is faster than the 18 months the east bound bridge took at Cub Run.
Last edited by terribletraffic; 03-06-2014 at 06:32 PM..
A third lane eastbound opened between stone ridge and south riding, with a 3rd east bound lane set to be completed all the way to Chantilly by August! A 3rd westbound lane will be done by the of the year.
Yes traffic is still not perfect, but as I commute down 50 daily it continues to improve. Leaving around 9 I was able to reach gmu in 35-40 minutes, much better than the hour plus it used to take.
Ashburn has mature roads yes, but the main reason it has them is because it is between the predeveloped Leesburg and sterling areas, while dulles south has a road to no large town/city.
However you have to give dulles south some serious credit for what it has come to be so far. There was virtually no preexisting infrastructure in the area at all. There were no small villages the area grew around nor was it like Ashburn in a midway location.
The new Walmart, Ross, Dicks Sporting Goods among many others is set to open this year with plenty of visible construction. The major hospital on 50 across from Stone Ridge will produce 500+ jobs further encouraging more commercial/retail development.
If you search up Walmart or look for any major retail in Ashburn you'll find that almost all of it is towards Sterling or Leesburg. But the new retail set to open on the corner of route 50 and 606 will be fairly squarely set within the area (even though it has a Sterling address, a quick map search will show it is no where near Sterling proper). The various other developments, all right along 50, will further create a new central hub in Loudoun, easily improving quality of life and home values, with convenience that will rival or be perhaps even better than most other suburbs.
In regards to traffic, route 50 has a final completion for the end of next year, but the three lanes will be open both ways by the end of August & December as mentioned prior. The reason for the 2015 opening is because a 4th west bound lane will be constructed up to Stone croft Blvd and a spur will be added from route 28 for direct access to the Chantilly crossing area.
Route 606 will begin expanding Feb 2015 with a 2017 completion date. By that time expect to see Loudoun County Parkway fully completed from Ashburn to Braddock Road, greatly improving overall traffic.
Braddock Road and Pleasant Valley road have a traffic circle construction project set to begin this Fall for completion in 2016. This road is heavily used to easily access Centreville and Fairfax areas.
Gum Spring Road will receive further shoulder improvements which will improve the overall speed and safety of the road. This road is mainly used for those headed to Manassas and Gainsville.
Northstar Blvd or the future and inevitable bi county parkway run right past Stone Ridge. Making the Dulles South area a mid point space between Ashburn/Leesburg and Manassas/Gainsville. This will further improve commercial demand in the area.
Finally the route 606 metro station due for 2018. Will be less then 15 minutes from the Dulles South area directly taking the by then expanded 606. This is slightly further than Brambleton / Broadlands and their commute to the 772 station, but that time will pretty much be made up on the metro from 772 and 606. The unique thing about the 606 station is that it's primary purpose will be to serve the Dulles South area. Route 606 will eventually become a limited access highway through an industrial area between Dulles South and the metro. This pretty much means the road will be primarily used by residents of the South Riding/ Aldie area.
So given all this information it should be clear why the Dulles South area lacks all the mature roadways and retail of Ashburn (which are actually not for just Ashburn, but Leesburg and Sterling/Herndon) The area is literally building a city and a regional center from nothing. It isn't a crossroads (yet) like Auburn is, nor has any nearby cities to share it's retail with, except for Chantilly. So it just needs time. Eventually its value will grow to rival and perhaps even surpass older suburbs like Centreville. The area has a big future ahead of it, no longer as an exurb but as a regional center.
Last edited by greenarrow101; 07-19-2014 at 07:59 AM..
"Why the heck aren't there two turn lanes from west bound 50 onto Gum springs?"
Like you asked two left turn lanes have opened from 50 to gum springs . Lots of work is planned to relieve more 50 traffic with the construction of the Dulles South Parkway and the completion of Tall Cedars by next year! Lots of information on the dozens of road/retail projects are out there! Given all that we will "soon" be seeing the light at the end of this tunnel!
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. Lots of work is planned to relieve more 50 traffic with the construction of the Dulles South Parkway and the completion of Tall Cedars by next year! Lots of information on the dozens of road/retail projects are out there! Given all that we will "soon" be seeing the light at the end of this tunnel! 
