Route 28, 606 Changes to be Finished by 2005
March 12, 2004

The Herndon Observer
by Jackie Allder (Observer Staff Writer)

"Highway construction is kind of like changing the carpet in the middle of a dinner party," said Jon Harman, development manager for Route 28 Corridor Improvements, LLC, referencing the challenges of improving public roads.

In October 2002, the Commonwealth of Virginia, The Clark Construction Group, Inc. and Shirley Contracting Company, LLC formed a partnership to build six interchanges along Route 28, with money from a special tax district funding most of the project. Clark and Shirley are operating together under the name Route 28 Corridor Improvements for this project.

Interchanges will be built at Barnsfield Road , McLearen Road, Route 606, Route 625 (Waxpool Road and Church Road), Sterling Boulevard and Westfields Boulevard. The first of these interchanges, which services the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, will be completed by the summer.

Construction began on the interchange at Route 606 and Tour 28 last summer and almost 25 percent of the project is now complete.

Harman said Route 28 Corridor Improvements anticipates opening the bridge portion of Route 606, which will go over Route 28, by the fall. The full cloverleaf interchange, though, will not be finished until early next year.

The interchange at Waxpool and Church Roads is also currently under construction. Final plans call for a three-leaf clover at the intersection, with a flyover ramp from Route 28 north to Waxpool Road.

The interchange at Waxpool and Church is not expected to be finished until the end of 2005; however Harman said a ramp from Waxpool Road to Route 28 south should be opened by the summer.

Harman said prior to the opening of the interchange, Waxpool Road from Pacific Boulevard to the Loudoun County Parkway will be widened from four lanes to six lanes, alleviating traffic problems. He said this should be finished by December.

Construction on the interchange at Sterling Boulevard and McLearen Road will begin next spring, and they should be completed by the end of 2006.

The final Route 28 improvements plans call for widening the road to eight lanes and building a total of 10 interchanges from Route 7 to Interstate 66.

The interchanges that are not included in the Route 28 Corridor Improvement's project are Frying Pan Road, Nokes Boulevard, Willard Road and an interchange at Innovation Drive near Route 606.