The development of Patriot High School off of Kettle Run Road in Nokesville is raising concerns about the impact two new traffic lights on Vint Hill Road leading to the school will have on traffic congestion.

Prince William County Supervisor Wally Covington (R-Brentsville) said Monday that he plans to ask the county's department of transportation at the Sept. 14 board meeting to conduct a traffic impact analysis in order to further study the situation at Sudley Manor Drive and Kettle Run Road intersections of Vint Hill Road.

"I'm expecting some very large back ups on Vint Hill Road," said Covington, adding that he "personally" drives the road daily because that's where he lives. "The stoplights there are going to put a fair amount of pressure on those roads."

Covington said he was not sure about the exact date that the lights are set to be activated, though he did hear that they are likely to start functioning before Patriot opens in late summer 2011. He mentioned that he supports the lights for child safety but he said he would still like traffic alternatives to alleviate congestion.

The second-term supervisor also said he expects Fauquier residents "are going to be the majority of commuter traffic" affected by the lights.

"It's going to change the way people deal with that corridor," said Covington.

"We've got a lot of work that's coming out of the (Route) 215 area," said Fauquier County Supervisor Raymond Graham (R-Cedar Run). "We're working on (U.S.) 29, we're working on the Vint Hill Parkway... We've always been supportive of improving (Route) 215 from Vint Hill the base to Route 28."

Commuters heading westbound from U.S. 28 can potentially avoid the lights by either taking Linton Hall Road to the north or Fauquier Drive-Dumfries Road to the south.

From Linton Hall Road, commuters that wish to pass Patriot High School but still travel on Vint Hill Road can turn left on Sudley Manor Drive and turn right at the new stoplight to re-enter Vint Hill Road.

Eventually, further west, Rollins Ford Road is due to be extended to connect Linton Hall Road and Vint Hill Road. Paving and partial widening is likely to be completed throughout Glenkirk Road by the end of October, according to Covington. That would make three roads connecting Vint Hill and Linton Hall.

However, even after the improvements, Glenkirk will still not going to be the most ideal road for heavy commuting as it passes an elementary school and is still quite windy.

"I don't think it's a long-term solution to anything," said Covington. (It's) not a transportation solution for the volume of traffic that's coming in from Fauquier."

Another problem for Vint Hill Road commuters, as Covington mentioned, will be the frequent bus stops along the road. Because Vint Hill runs along the Rural Crescent, houses are more spread apart and there are not bus stops like in Braemar where large groups of kids can enter and exit the buses.

"You have a lot of bus stops on Vint Hill Road (coupled) with those lights and you're going to have a lot of traffic on that road," said Covington, calling such a scenario a "weakness" for roads within the Rural Crescent.

According to Graham, Fauquier's elected official have no problem "four-laning" Vint Hill Road, "but unfortunately, the majority of the road is in Prince William County. That's the nature of the beast. We're in a totally different region than Prince William as far as VDOT's concerned."

Covington and Graham disagree on one way to alleviate congestion along Vint Hill Road. Covington supports the creation of the Buckland Bypass to Gainesville and widening part of Vint Hill Road out to four lanes near U.S. 29.

"It's my position that we need to do both," said Covington. "On the Fauquier side, there needs to be a plan that comes together with Prince William that (figures out) how we're going to connect with Vint Hill."

Graham said he objects to the Buckland Bypass because it would run through Fauquier farms.

"It helps him bypass something they created which is Gainesville," said Graham. He later added, "It was Prince William that created the debacle."

The Fauquier side of Vint Hill Road is slated to, over time, double in size once it is completely developed, according to Graham. He explained that there are around about 3,000 residents there now. He blamed the General Assembly for inadequate proffer laws, which means less money coming into Fauquier's coffers from developers. He also singled out Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads for pushing proffer laws that he said "ties everyone's hands up."

Covington and Graham presented different views on Fauquier's contribution to growth and development in the area.

"Fauquier's put a lot of growth there and a lot of growth in New Baltimore," said Covington. "They've done virtually nothing to mitigate or to plan for the growth (and are) relying on us."

Graham disagreed.

"We're working on a comprehensive plan," he said, adding that the county is studying potential improvements for Vint Hill Road, U.S. 28 and U.S. 29. "We're doing a traffic count right now to check on our flow of traffic."

He mentioned the development of the Vint Hill parkway and the widening of to Dumfries Road in one area as some of the changes being made to the general corridor. Dumfries road is set to eventually be widened section-by-section from U.S. 29 in the west to U.S. 28 in the east.

"Again, that's money and we use a significant amount of our money to buy into the cost-share plan with VDOT to improve that," said Graham.

Unlike Prince William County, Fauquier County does not fund road improvements through voter-approved bonding. The widening of Linton Hall Road, for example, was approved and paid for by Prince William County voters and taxpayers.

That said, counties surrounding Fauquier are growing at faster rates than Fauquier, meaning commuters from Culpeper and Madison counties are driving through Fauquier on their way to Prince William, creating even more congestion from further away.

In the long run, that will negatively affect Vint Hill Road, according to Covington, along with residential development in eastern Fauquier.

"(That will) continue to add traffic to that road and it's not going to be able to sustain the level of housing in Fauquier that's going to influence it," said Covington. "At some point, we're going to have to deal with it."