Chair Ann Wheeler acknowledged that the Prince William Digital Gateway CPA review was “confusing” and announced a delay in bringing it to the Board of County Supervisors for a vote.
Despite the compromised nature of the September 14th Planning Commission public hearing, there was no mention of invalidating its recommendation or conducting a new hearing under more trustworthy conditions. So, you can expect the pause is merely designed to give weary citizens time to forget.
The nine-mile western segment, which spans Route 29 in Gainesville to Route 28 in Centreville, opened ahead of schedule on Saturday, Sept. 10. This westernmost portion is the first section of the 66 Express Lanes to open, and will provide early benefits to I-66 travelers including added capacity, smoother pavement, better travel reliability and new connections. The remaining 13 miles of new express lanes along I-66 between Route 28 and I-495 (the Capital Beltway) are scheduled to open in December 2022.
“Today’s early opening of the first section of the 66 Express Lanes allows the Commonwealth and its partners to begin providing long awaited relief to drivers who have dealt with daily congestion, unreliability, and most recently, five years of heavy roadway construction,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller. “By the end of this year, we expect to open the remainder of the more than $3-billion 66 Express Lanes megaproject, benefitting I-66 travelers, and becoming a critical part of the Commonwealth’s planned 90+ mile express lanes network in Northern Virginia.”
Opponents of data centers will hold a protest outside the Prince Wiliam County Government Center.
Drivers on Prince William Parkway should see the protesters at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 13, at the county government center, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge.
The Prince William County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the controversial Prince William Digital Gateway project.
The project aims to convert open space next to the Manassas National Battlefield into data centers. Three applicants have filed rezoning applications for the area, which would rezone more than 800 acres from agricultural and estate land to an area zoned for technology/flex space.
Project leaders have yet to announce the exact opening date. Crews are working to make the final preparations for opening after five years of construction.
The nine-mile western stretch of the E-ZPass Express Lanes spans from Route 29 in Gainesville east to Route 28 in Centreville. The lanes feature multiple new ramps providing access to and from the E-ZPass lanes. The remaining 13 miles of new E-ZPass lanes on I-66 between Route 28 and I-495 (the Capital Beltway) should open in December 2022.
On Wednesday, August 31, crews erected a long-term closure of the left travel lane, which will be in place around-the-clock through Saturday, September 10. The left lane closure will reduce this section of westbound I-66 to three travel lanes from west of Route 234 Business (Sudley Road) near Groveton Road to Route 29 (Lee Highway) in Gainesville.
Additional lane closures will occur in this area during the overnight hours, says VDOT. These lane closures will allow crews to complete work for this section of roadway in preparation for the opening of the future 66 Express Lanes Outside the Beltway later this year.
On Saturday, July 30, House of Mercy hosted an annual back-to-school event.
The Gainesville-based charity provided 326 local children grades K-12 with free supplies for the upcoming school year. That donations to children represent 4.4% of the total amount of children starting classes Wednesday, August 10, in all 11 schools in the Manassas City Public School district. Below is a full report of the event.
Police in Prince William County were called to investigate two incidents involving alcohol. One person locked herself in a bathroom at a car dealership and refused to leave, police said.
Another exposed himself to drivers in Gainesville, police said.
It seems clear to us that, as a group, our local elected leaders in Prince William County appear to be struggling to make decisions regarding the long-term strategic use of a scarce resource — our land.
Such land use decisions are critical to ensuring our county will be one that continues to attract new residents and new businesses and retains the current attributes that attracted current residents to move here.
According to the National Weather Service, we’re under flood watch beginning at 3 p.m.
* WHAT…Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
