Route 28 Bypass Project Ended By Prince William County Supervisors

MANASSAS, VA — The last lifeline for the Route 28 Bypass project is gone after action by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors Tuesday.

The board voted 5-3 to cancel the project, with Supervisors Victor Angry (D-Neabsco), Andrea Bailey (D-Potomac) and Margaret Franklin (D-Woodbridge) opposing the cancellation.

The bypass, had been a years-long effort to address the growing traffic on Route 28, a key route in the cities of Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County. The project would have involved extending Godwin Drive Across Sudley Road as a four-lane divided road connecting with Route 28 north of Bull Run Stream in Fairfax County. Prince William County supervisors had voted for the bypass option in 2020.

However, WTOP reported that the project drew concerns like increasing costs, how the road would be laid out, displacement of about 70 homes as well as businesses, and lack of support from Fairfax County.

On Tuesday, Prince William County's director of transportation Rick Canizales recommended cancellation to the board, citing the rising costs and inability to come to a resolution with Fairfax County. Canizales said Chair Deshundra Jefferson has been in conversations with Fairfax County's board over the last year and hadn't secured their endorsement for the project.

"Closing out this project and terminating it as a project in Prince William County will allow us to look at other alternatives for this corridor that may be more cost-effective or other alternatives that may help operations in the Route 28 corridor itself," said Canizales.

Supervisor Yesli Vega (R-Coles), whose district the bypass project would have been located in, spoke in support of county residents who would be displaced from their homes.

"If anybody takes a moment but go over there, this to these people is paradise," said Vega. "What may be insignificant for somebody else means the world to other people. Respect what that meaning has to folks that live in this area."

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which allocates regional revenues for transportation projects with a focus on relieving congestion, had provided $6 million for studies and $89 for the project's design and construction. Canizales said the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority funds would have to be returned, and the county would have to apply for funds for any new projects. The county has spent $5.9 million of the NVTA funds on design.

Another $200 million of funding for the bypass project would have come from a bond question approved by the board. The voter-approved bond would allow the funding for a Route 28 bypass or widening project.

With the cancellation, Canizales said the county can move forward with discussions on alternatives. In the short term, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Prince William County are working on Route 28 studies to do operational improvements to the route.

Supervisors for and against cancelling the bypass urged action to relieve congestion that Route 28 commuters face.

"If we cancel out the project today, we need to think about a viable solution for road improvements in that area," said Franklin. "I don't think canceling a project and then doing nothing is a real solution. We got to figure something out."

"All I know is on that 28 route up to the Fairfax line, it's horrible," said Angry. "That is a quality of life issue for anyone that drives that corridor, as something needs to be done, and anything done after this, if this isn't done, is going to cost even more than $100 million that you're talking about."

Supervisor Kenny Boddye (D-Occoquan) said he has constituents in his district commuting on Route 28 who faced choices of commuting in congestion through Clifton or Route 28. Over the years, residents have heard promises from leaders that they would do something about Route 28. He said killing the project isn't the end, noting the board could go back and add a Route 28 widening to its comprehensive plan.

"Now that we know based on the last two weeks that we will have many more people returning to Washington, DC to work because of the executive orders and others things that have happened, we can't wait...however long it's going to take to do a full small area plan for this area," said Boddye. "So the fastest way for us to get something done, that's the widening, I think we need to pursue that. I think we need to pivot as quickly as possible."

Vega spoke in support of defending Prince William County's interest in the project rather than those of surrounding localities.

"Do we have a problem on Route 28? Yes, we do. Are we going to do something about it? Yes, we will, because I gave my word that we would, and I'm a woman of my word, and we're going to follow through on that," said Vega. "The way that we get there has drastically changed. What we fight for is for Prince William County's interest, and not that of any other jurisdiction."