BLOG: City Could Have Benefited from GMU West Campus Connector Road

A few weeks ago the George Mason University West Campus Transportation Plan, which was considered a long term plan, got a boost from Governor McDonnell’s transportation spending package putting it on the fast trask. The primary component of this plan is a bridge that would cross 123 near the new Mason Inn and link to a new road that would go through the athletic field area and connect to Braddock Road.  This would provide a new route into campus from the west that completely avoids the dreaded Braddock Road/123 intersection.

A secondary component of the plan would have connected the new Braddock Road entrance to University Drive on the west side of 123, but the city opposed this and the University seems to have pulled it from the plan.

Though a preliminary study showed that this would have downgraded the University Drive/123 intersection, the decision to oppose it was premature, as this connection could have been beneficial for the city. 

A disconnected street network significantly impacts traffic congestion as it channels drivers onto a limited number of roads, increasing congestion on those roads. In this case, the entire southwestern quadrant of Fairfax City, as well as Fairfax Villa is forced onto Lee Highway, Main Street, or 123.  So, someone who lives in Fairfax Villa and wants to head west on Braddock Road is forced to use 123 or cut through city neighborhoods to Main Street or Lee Highway, even though they are within a mile of both Braddock Road and Shirley Gate. The proposed connection would have added a Braddock Road option which would especially benefit those heading west, but also those heading south on 123.  It may even decrease cut-through traffic in city neighborhoods from Fairfax Villa by giving those residents a new exit from their neighborhood.

The city should have weighed the costs and benefits of this and considered ways to remediate the negative impacts on the University Drive/123 intersection before taking a stance on this.  It is not very often that an institution outside the city offers to build a road that will help us.

Side note: A connector road was originally planned from Fairfax Villa, through Fairfax Villa Park to Shirley Gate, but was never built.