TAB 01 Date of Council Meeting: April 24, 2017 TOWN OF LEESBURG - PDF document

TAB 01 Date of Council Meeting: April 24, 2017 TOWN OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION Subject: East Market Street (Route 7) / Battlefield Parkway Interchange Staff Contact : Tom Brandon, Capital Projects Manager, Public Works & Capital Projects Calvin Grow, Transportation Engineer, Public Works & Capital Projects Renée LaFollette, Director, Public Works & Capital Projects Council Action Requested: Information only. Staff Recommendation: Information only. Commission Recommendation: Not applicable. Fiscal Impact: A new grade-separated interchange between East Market Street and Battlefield Parkway is estimated to cost $58 million. This order-of-magnitude estimate was prepared based on comparable interchanges in the area. As part of the ongoing studies to select a preferred alternative for the interchange, the estimated cost will be refined. However, based on work performed to date, the estimated project cost appears to be in the right order of magnitude. To date the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) has awarded a total of $33 million to the project. This existing funding is sufficient for preparation or the required Interchange Justification Report, preparation of an environmental document, design, right-of-way acquisition, relocation of utilities, and a portion of the construction. The remainder of the funding has not been secured. The Town will continue to apply for major project funding sources for full funding of the project, including NVTA regional funding and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Smart Scale. Other potential smaller funding programs from VDOT, NVTA and other sources will also be evaluated. Work Plan Impact: None. This project is included in the Department of Public Works and Capital Projects work plan. The studies, design and construction of the interchange are being administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Town of Leesburg and Loudoun County. Executive Summary: The initial stages are underway for the development of a grade-separated interchange to replace the signalized East Market Street (Route 7) / Battlefield Parkway intersection. The project will also include modification of the existing Cardinal Park Drive intersection with East Market Street. As part of the preliminary design and the development of an Interchange Justification Report, various alternative interchange configurations have been developed and are being evaluated. This initial work on the project, including the preliminary design, traffic studies, Interchange Justification Report, and environmental document is scheduled to be completed in spring 2018. Scheduling of final design and construction of the interchange is dependent on future funding.

East Market Street (Route 7) / Battlefield Parkway Interchange April 24, 2017 Page 2 Background: East Market Street (Route 7) is one of the most congested corridors in Leesburg. This highway carries inter-state and intra-state traffic from the west and south to the employment corridors and activity centers in the Dulles area and Washington, DC metropolitan region. Current weekday traffic on East Market Street is estimated to be 85,000 vehicles per day and current traffic on Battlefield Parkway is estimated to be 15,000 vehicles per day. During the afternoon peak hour, approximately 8,000 vehicles pass through the Battlefield Parkway intersection resulting in routine congestion. Also, the existing East Market Street signalized intersections with Battlefield Parkway and Cardinal Park Drive have some of the highest accident rates in Loudoun County In addition to motorized vehicle issues, East Market Street acts as a barrier separating residential areas from retail and business areas. Project Scope In 2016, the Town entered into an agreement with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for funding of preliminary studies and design for the interchange. The Town also executed a separate agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in which they are administering the work on the project. The purpose of the project is to:  Reduce recurring congestion at the Route 7 and Battlefield Parkway intersection  Improve safety  Improve accessibility for pedestrian and bicycle traffic crossing Route 7 One of the required steps to construct a new highway interchange is to develop an Interchange Justification Report (IJR). The purpose of the IJR is to provide a reliable forecast of future traffic conditions, develop and evaluate alternatives, and select an alternative that best meets the project needs. Alternatives Four alternative interchange configurations for Battlefield Parkway, and four optional treatments of the Cardinal Park Drive intersection have been developed for the project (drawings included in the VDOT presentation attached): The alternatives that have been developed for the Battlefield interchange are:  Alternate 1: Hybrid Diamond Interchange with a cloverleaf loop ramp in the northeast quadrant – Variations of this type of interchange are found at several locations along Route 7 east of Leesburg.  Alternate 2: Compressed Urban Diamond – This type of interchange is at the intersection of Route 7 and Fairfax County Parkway near Dranesville.  Alternate 3: Diverging Diamond Interchange – This type of interchange configuration was recently constructed at the I-66 / Route 15 intersection in Haymarket.  Alternate 4: Single Point Urban Interchange- An example of this type of interchange configuration is at the Route 7 / Loudoun County Parkway intersection in Ashburn.

East Market Street (Route 7) / Battlefield Parkway Interchange April 24, 2017 Page 3 Cardinal Park  Option A: Green T – This type of intersection allows the westbound through Route 7 traffic to continue freeflow without a traffic signal. Westbound left turn to Cardinal Park Drive would be controlled by a signal. This is similar to the intersection configuration on the Bypass at Fort Evans Road. The left turning traffic from Cardinal Park Drive is separated from the westbound Route 7 traffic by a barrier, and would not have direct access to the Bypass.  Option B: Right-In/Right-Out/Left-In – This type of intersection would not allow left turns from Cardinal Park Drive to westbound Route 7. Traffic wishing to go westbound would use Trailview Boulevard/Russell Branch Parkway and go through the new interchange. All other movements at the intersection would be allowed and would be contolled by a signal, except for Route 7 westbound through traffic, which would be free flowing.  Option C: Right-In/Right-Out – This type of intersection would allow traffic to leave the Cardinal Park area and travel eastbound, but would not allow traffic to turn left and travel westbound. Westbound Route 7 traffic would not have access into Cardinal Park.  Option D: Right-In Only – With this type of intersection, all traffic leaving Cardinal Park would use Trailview Boulevard/Russell Branch Parkway to the new interchange at Battlefield Parkway. Also, westbound Route 7 traffic would use the Battlefield Parkway interchange and Russell Branch Parkway to access the Cardinal Park area. Public Outreach The development and approval of the IJR will include significant outreach to impacted stakeholders. Information about the project is available on the Town’s websi te, and on a project web page maintained by VDOT, which is located on their website at http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/rt_7_at_battlefield_pkwy.asp. VDOT will begin meeting with individual business and property owners later this spring. A formal Public Hearing will be held after completion of the draft IJR. This hearing is tentatively scheduled for 1 st Quarter of Calendar Year 2018. Schedule Below is the tentative schedule for approval of the IJR and the project design.  Spring 2017: Meetings with business owners, Public Information Meeting, and identification of a preferred alternative.  Summer 2017: Complete preliminary design  Fall 2017: Conditional IJR approval  Early 2018: Public Hearing, additional briefings to Town Council and Board of Supervisors  Early 2018: Town and County endorsements  Spring 2018: Design approval Final design, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction will be scheduled after full project funding has been finalized. Attachment: VDOT Presentation

Route 7 (East Market Street) Interchange at Battlefield Parkway Town of Leesburg Project No: 0007-253-109 UPC 106573 April 2017 William Dunn, PE John Maddox, PE VDOT Project Manager Consultant Project Manager

Project Limits 2

Project Purpose and Scope Project Purpose • Improve safety and pedestrian/vehicle flow by building a grade-separated interchange which will allow Route 7 to become a limited-access highway through the Town of Leesburg Corporate Limits Ongoing Efforts Next Steps • Traffic Analysis • Design Public Hearing • Interchange Alternatives Screening • Design Approval • Interchange Justification Report (IJR) • NEPA Environmental Studies • Preliminary Design STATION DR E MARKET ST CARDINAL PARK DR 3

Route 7 at Battlefield Pkwy Interchange Alternatives • Alternative 1 – Single Loop Hybrid Interchange • Alternative 2 – Compressed Diamond Interchange • Alternative 3 – Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) • Alternative 4 – Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) Note: Levels of Service (LOS) on subsequent slides reflect Right-In/Right-Out at Cardinal Park Drive (Option C) 4