|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
County transportation projects roll forward
Belmont/Route 7 interchange to get makeover
The interchange at Belmont Ridge Road and Route 7 is getting a new look. County supervisors on June 15 voted unanimously to approve construction plans to add an overpass that would carry Belmont Ridge Road (Route 659) over Route 7.
The project, estimated at $65.1 million for land and construction, would move the intersection west of its current location.
Plans include a traffic signal that will be installed above the interchange on the bridge deck.
Of the five options for the interchange, Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg) said this one is the best.
“We ended up selecting the first one because we wanted to select the alternative that had the least amount of impact on the area,” said Burk, who chairs the county's Transportation and Land Use Committee.
Specifically, she said, the county did not wish to disrupt a historic site that would sit southeast of the intersection – a cemetery that houses the remains of slaves who worked at Belmont Plantation during the early to mid-19th century.
Supervisors also considered running Belmont Road under Route 7 at the interchange, but Burk said this option was too expensive.
In 2006, county residents approved a $4.5 million bond referendum for preliminary engineering at the intersection. The county has not decided where the money for construction will come from, staff said. Improvements, staff said, would alleviate some of the traffic congestion on Route 7.
“This specific intersection has been acknowledged as one of the most highly congested locations within the county,” the staff report said.
In addition, Burk said that the plans for the intersection will allow flexibility for future expansion.
Although projects of this size are usually completed within six years, county staff said, state and local funding limitations will likely push back the project's completion date.
A timeline of completion for this interchange has not been announced.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.