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Proposed expansion of 29 raises concerns in Gainesville
It could be decades before a bypass from U.S. 29 around Gainesville is built.
But to the more than 50 local commuters that attended a town hall-style meeting with traffic officials at Battlefield High School in Haymarket last Tuesday, now is the time to make sure this project is done right.
"The typical question you get from somebody is, they're sitting in traffic, they say, 'Well, why didn't VDOT think of this happening 20 years ago?'" said Joe Springer, a project manager with the engineering and construction firm Parsons Transportation, which is a contractor working for VDOT. "So, what we're trying to do is avoid that. Let's look in the future. Let's have some options..."
Planners from the Virginia Department of Transportation have proposed making changes throughout the 219-mile stretch of U.S. 29 from Danville to the Interstate 66 intersection in Gainesville.In some areas, they would like to build out from four lanes to six lanes to better accommodate tractor trailers. Other places could have different plans for adding more rails for trains.
All of that requires time, money, right of way purchases and a lot of planning to finish. So Springer and Charlie Rosnick of VDOT hit the road for two weeks earlier this month to make eight presentations at different locations along the U.S. 29 corridor to explain to locals why VDOT wants to make changes and hear what the area residents had to say.
A unique aspect of the U.S. 29 corridor near Gainesville is the cultural and historic significance of the Buckland Historic District near the Route 15 intersection. Houses and a mill built in the 19th century are still there in Gainesville and the Buckland area along U.S. 29 served as the location for one of the Confederacy’s last victories during the Civil War on October 19, 1863.
Robert Orrison of Bristow mentioned that extending rail and roadways through Buckland Mills could damage resources located directly to the sides of the roads, which could then hurt tourism to the area.
"Buckland should probably be bypassed, but I think you've got to look at each area separately," Orrison said.
Fauquier County resident Jay Miner, who lived in Manassas before the Sudley Road corridor was fully developed, agreed with Orrison.“I think they seriously need to come up with a way around it," said Miner.
On the issue of the need for a bypass around Gainesville that connects with I-66, Springer said, "Certainly there are folks that have that feeling and some of the technical analysis may support that."
He later added, "If we recommend the Buckland bypass being put in place, the first impact you're going to see is trying to work with local planners to preserve the corridor. You may not see the bypass being built for 20 or 30 years, but hopefully you'll preserve that corridor so hopefully, when it's built, you won't be taking hundreds of houses."
As Gainesville has rapidly developed this decade, more traffic lights have been installed at intersections along U.S. 29 between the Linton Hall Road intersection and the Fauquier County border. That has hampered the commute some residents like Tom Ashe, who lives at the intersection of U.S. 29 and Buckland Mills Road.
"I'm getting fed up with it and it's getting worse," Ashe to Springer. "It needs to be fixed now. But your visions are way off."
Ashe stood up near the end of the discussion session with Springer and Rosnick, his white beard extending at least half a foot. Easily the oldest person in the room, Ashe's frail voice delivered more than just a tongue lashing toward the planners in front of him.
"What VDOT's doing is providing us with good transportation," said Ashe as he attempted to slide on a blue trucker hat with the VDOT insignia on the front. The crowd laughed before the hat began to fall off, but Ashe's overall point was one that resounded with others in the audience: we want to be heard.
Some like Dave Klinkhamer of Virginia Oaks in Gainesville were skeptical about the purpose of the meeting.
"It isn't scientific. It's just meeting a requirement and keeping people happy," said Klinkhamer, citing noise issues related to extra volume on U.S. 29 being an issue for him.
Miner, who stood next to Klinkhamer, said he wants to know that VDOT officials take "our concerns to the board, when they're addressing this... and it has to be done now."
To him, bypassing Gainesville all together with a new road would be the best idea. "Something like that has to be done," he said.
New Baltimore resident Barbara Ziman said one of her chief concerns would be for Fauquier County to "remain more of a rural atmosphere." She liked that Springer and Rosnick made clear to her that they are looking at different solutions for different areas of the corridor.
As for exact timetables, Springer explained that it will be years before any sort of construction begins.
"Anything that involves moving dirt, except when it's a spot location, it's probably 10 years in the future," Springer said, adding that those sorts of projections are based on funding.
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