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VRE continues work on westward extension study
The first phase of a Virginia Railway Express extension study is six months through, and it could be 2018 before Haymarket has a station.
Under the best-case scenario, construction on a VRE extension to Gainesville and Haymarket could begin in five to six years, according to representatives for the VRE and its engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB).
The engineering firm is charged with completing the nearly $1.4 million feasibility study.
The two groups addressed the Haymarket Town Council Monday night and essentially echoed the best-case five-to-seven-year scenario originally described in January.
But Haymarket vice mayor John Cole was told it’s more likely to be ready in about nine or 10 years.
“It’s going to take a little longer than they thought," Cole said. "And again, as part of that study, they’re going to find that there are other issues that they have to take care of. And we’re here to help them.”
VRE officials Dale Zehner and Christine Hoeffner had met with Town of Haymarket Mayor Pamela Stutz and Town Manager Gene Swearingen on Jan. 28. Since then, the only major change is that the timeframe “has slipped a little bit,” according to Swearingen.
“This feasibility analysis [that] they’re going through is taking a little longer than they thought it would. And I’m concerned — and this is opinion — that there is going to be no money,” he said.
If the General Assembly continues its inaction on transportation funding in the upcoming years, Swearingen’s opinion may become reality.
A federal grant covers costs of the study not being paid by the state, but that has required VRE to conduct an analysis of alternatives.
What that means is that if there is a better mass-transit option for people to travel across western Prince William to Manassas, then VRE has to find it in order to get federal funds. That includes possible bus routes.
The Federal Transit Administration “requires you look at everything,” said VHB project manager David Wilcock.
VRE plans to use the existing Norfolk Southern freight lines for the extension. However, if a better option, such as bus routes, comes up, VRE will drop the project altogether, as the company is obviously interested only in rail options, explained Hoeffner.
But assuming rail is the way to go, the feasibility study needs to show an implementation plan for what the costs of the project would be and where stations would possibly be located.
“We just want the information. We want to be kept up to date. We don’t want to be in a vacuum,” said Stutz.
The Haymarket mayor has suggested VRE build one large station in Gainesville instead of constructing a second station in Haymarket.
“We want to know exactly what their plans are so we keep our residents informed. And, basically, our concern is like anything: we don’t want this ‘all of a sudden’ they’ve decided to do that and we’ve had no input,” she said.
Stutz added that her chief concern is “the station here is going to become a storage place for their units” rather than strictly a commuter lot.
Cole was less worried about the potential for a storage lot in Haymarket than over whether the cash-strapped town itself may end up paying for some of the project.
“They’re talking about a sort of share-the-expense project,” Swearingen said. “It sounds to me like we’re going to get hit with something here.”
However, the town is not flat-out against the rail system, Cole said.
“We’re going to wait for the results of the study. We just want to make sure that as they do their study, if they have questions of us, they know that they can come to us,” he said. “Don’t wait until the study is finished.”
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