Prince William County Route 1 name change cost estimates top $1 million

A county report estimates it could cost as much as $1.5 million to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway.

Route 1 in Prince Willam County, as its also known, runs from Quantico, through Dumfries and Woodbridge, north to the Occoquan River.

A street name change, like the one Woodbridge District Supervisor Angela Franklin directed county staff to pursue, would require the county to change 55 road signs at the cost of $200,000, according to a report from county transportation director Rick Canizales.

Taxpayers would also be on the hook for an estimated $175,000 to fund two-full time staffers for up to 18 months to input systemwide changes to the county’s mapping software. Office costs are not included in that estimate, Canizales notes.

Multiple County agencies would be responsible for carrying out various aspects of the above
activities, including:

• Transportation- Planning, procurement and oversight of signage replacement.
• GIS- Updating all addresses in the County Mapper system, reporting changes to
external systems, sending notifications, communicating with property owners and tenants and conducting field inspections.
• Taxpayer Services- Personal property and property tax billing system update.
• Communications- Internal and public notifications.
• Fire Marshal- Reprogram system which reports to E911 to reflect address changes for any affected property with a sprinkler system.
• Development Services- Update all Occupancy, Fire Protection and other applicable permits for affected properties.

The county would also need to send certified letters to every address on the roadway at an estimated cost of $5,712 per mailing, the report states.

Some 800 businesses would be affected by the change, the county estimates. The average business owner would incur a $1,000 cost to change the address of their business, the report states.

Over the past 10 years, Route 1 in Prince William County has been a hotbed of construction activity. Canizales suggests the county explore a $400,000 grant program for businesses to help offset the address-change costs for business owners.

“Given prior disruptions these businesses in recent years as a result of widening Route 1, the County may want to consider a subsidy to local businesses to offset the costs of the address change. This could be a significant cost. For example, a 50% subsidy of $500 per business for 800 businesses would amount to a cost of $400,000,” the report notes.

Affected business owners would also be on the hook to update not only letterheads and business cards but also internet search marketing. For many, it’ll be a simple update of a Facebook or Twitter profile, but for service-industry businesses with listings on Angie’s List and other referral sites, the process of updating their search engine optimization marketing will be a heavy lift, said Joe Turpin, managing director New Media Horizons, a search engine marketing firm in Gainesville.

“Some people are not going o have anywhere near the need of $500 worth of SEO services, while others are going to go well over $1,000,” said Turpin. “It depends on the business.”

Most of U.S. Route 1 in Virginia is named for Jefferson Davis, who was president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. Fredericksburg is also exploring a possible name change for the highway.

In addition to Franklin, Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey said she supports the measure.

A 2012 law prohibited localities from changing the street name. Last year, Attorney General Mark Herring issued an opinion stating a locality could petition the Commonwealth Transportation Board to change the name, which Arlington did successfully last year.

A half-mile section of the highway in Stafford County is known as Cambridge Street, while the portion of the highway that runs north of the Occoquan River through Fairfax County, Alexandria, and Arlington, is named Richmond Highway.