Rt. 15 Expansion North of Leesburg

[Anonymous]

So the Loudoun County Board of Supremely Stupid Supervisors has struck again. They just voted to expand Rt. 15 to 2 lanes in each direction, north of Leesburg, up from 1 lane in each direction.

WHUT?

Are they slow witted, have developers paid them off under the table, or were they high on drugs when they passed this measure ? ?

Rt. 15 is a parking lot because Frederick, MD has turned into a bedroom community. Houses are getting erected faster than the speed of sound on the Maryland side, while Loudoun is trying hard to maintain its rural vibe. Unfortunately for everyone involved, all the willy nilly development in Frederick County MD is causing crazy back-ups on Rt. 15 because the Point of Rocks bridge is the only way to get home for all the Maryland residents who work in the Rt. 7 tech corridor who don't want to take Rt. 270 home. There is no bridge connecting Virginia and Maryland between Rt. 495 by Tyson's Corners and the Point of Rocks bridge on Rt. 15.

HOWEVER. Rt. 15 in Maryland is ONE lane in each direction. Maryland has ZERO plans to expand Rt. 15, and it has ZERO plans to cooperate in building a new bridge to carry all its additional traffic home. So all the traffic is still going to get backed up, because they still have to funnel down to one lane from the two lanes in Virginia.

What were the idiots thinking?

[Anonymous]

Loudoun is trying hard to maintain its rural vibe.

Really?

[Anonymous]

Loudoun has never had a rural vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun has never had a rural vibe.

You obviously haven’t seen all of Loudoun.

[Anonymous]

Better to deal with some bottlenecked traffic near the bridge than a gridlocked corridor all the way down to Leesburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun has never had a rural vibe.

You obviously haven’t seen all of Loudoun.

Seriously.

Clearly Belmont Ridge Rd is as far west as this poster has ever ventured.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better to deal with some bottlenecked traffic near the bridge than a gridlocked corridor all the way down to Leesburg.

The backups will continue all the way down into Leesburg because Frederick County development is out of control.

[Anonymous]

Before I moved to DC I used to drive back and forth from Pennsylvania to DC. When Beltway and 270 traffic was a mess one of my usual detours was to use 15 through Leesburg. Wouldn't get me there any faster but at least it was a more enjoyable ride, going through the country, horse farms etc.

But I guess that's going to be screwed now too.

[Anonymous]

I think they're hoping Maryland will follow suit and expanding from their side.

[Anonymous]

Will there be interchanges?

[Anonymous]

Seriously, they need to construct more interchanges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better to deal with some bottlenecked traffic near the bridge than a gridlocked corridor all the way down to Leesburg.

The BOS could have chosen to make more immediate, less disruptive, and way less expensive changes that would make the road safer, traffic flow better, without widening all the way through Lucketts. They could add better shoulders, turn lanes, and a few roundabouts.

Have you seen the new Battlefield interchange? That project took a year and it is SO poorly designed. I have absolutely no faith in the powers that be to get the Rt. 15 project right. Not to mention the invaluable wetland conservation areas, farmland, and two mobile home parks that house nearly half of Lucketts residents that will be compromised, if not destroyed.

[Anonymous]

You know what's worked to help move traffic?

Roundabouts.

Some testaments to roundabouts include Gilbert's Corner enroute to Middleburg, VA. Another successful example is the traffic calming roundabouts in Hillsboro, the charming little town on Rt. 9. Some people hate the new Rt. 9 roundabouts, but I don't know why. They WORK.

Rt. 15 north of Leesburg desperately needs roundabouts. Why would the BOS choose a half-baked plan to expand the highway in Virginia -- but wait for it -- it's still a little country road starting with the Point of Rocks bridge into Maryland. WHUT??

They could have chosen to employ roundabouts. But that makes way too much sense, obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun has never had a rural vibe.

You obviously haven’t seen all of Loudoun.

Seriously.

Clearly Belmont Ridge Rd is as far west as this poster has ever ventured.

Clearly some anti-development Montgomery County person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better to deal with some bottlenecked traffic near the bridge than a gridlocked corridor all the way down to Leesburg.

The BOS could have chosen to make more immediate, less disruptive, and way less expensive changes that would make the road safer, traffic flow better, without widening all the way through Lucketts. They could add better shoulders, turn lanes, and a few roundabouts.

Have you seen the new Battlefield interchange? That project took a year and it is SO poorly designed. I have absolutely no faith in the powers that be to get the Rt. 15 project right. Not to mention the invaluable wetland conservation areas, farmland, and two mobile home parks that house nearly half of Lucketts residents that will be compromised, if not destroyed.

The number one consideration needs to be the mobile home parks? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard.