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Politics & Government

Residents Comment on Sycolin Road Overpass

Traffic will be detoured when section of Sycolin Road closes in June 2013.

Leesburg residents mingled with town, county and state officials to ask questions and make comments about the Sycolin Road Overpass project at a public hearing held by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) at Leesburg Town Hall on May 17.

The project will eliminate the traffic lights and turn lanes at the intersection of Sycolin Road and the Rt. 7/15 Bypass, which is regularly ranked among the most dangerous intersections in Loudoun County.

When the overpass is complete, traffic on Sycolin Road will travel over the bypass, and there will no longer be direct access between Sycolin Road and the bypass.

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Instead, people driving on Sycolin Road will use Battlefield Parkway or the Dulles Greenway to access the bypass.

In June 2013, Sycolin Road will be closed from Hope Parkway south of the bypass to Gateway Drive north of the bypass. Traffic will be detoured until August 2014, when the overpass is scheduled to open.

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Jim Zeller, preliminary engineering manager for VDOT’s Leesburg office, said that Sycolin Road would not be closed until the public school year ends in June 2013. It is scheduled to be closed about 14 months and reopen before the new school year begins in 2014.

“So the detour will be in effect for two summers and one full school year,” Zeller said.

Ken Reid, Leesburg District representative on the , expressed concern that the closure of Sycolin Road will cause major traffic backups in Tavistock Farms as motorists use Tavistock Drive to cut through the neighborhood between Sycolin Road and Battlefield Parkway.

Zeller said that the Dulles Greenway will help alleviate some of the traffic detoured when Sycolin Road is closed. He pointed out that motorists can enter the Dulles Greenway from Battlefield Parkway south of the Rt. 7/15 Bypass and travel north to the bypass without paying any tolls.

The overpass will include two northbound and two southbound lanes, a sidewalk adjacent to the southbound lanes, and a pedestrian/bicycle path that will be separated from the northbound lanes by a barrier.

The total cost of the project will be about $19.6 million.

The public comment period on the project will end May 27. You may send comments to meeting_comments@vdot.virginia.gov. Include the words “Sycolin Road Overpass” in the subject line.

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