Bypass

Bypass

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miles an hour on the beltway,” Gourley pointed out. Surveys taken at peak times, when relief is needed, would show lower percentages of through-traffic, particularly trucks, he predicted.

Of the alternatives for a western bypass, three go through Fauquier, where the Board of Supervisors is already on record as opposing a route in that county and according to McNear, the board will endorse an even stronger resolution later this month, objecting to any configuration for a new highway west from Interstate 95 at Fredericksburg and across the Potomac above the District of Columbia.

Two of BMI’s alternatives for Fauquier share a new corridor going south of Warrenton, through the New Baltimore Service District, and cutting between Calverton and Midland. The second follows the Virginia Electric Power Company’s transmission line, skirting the western boundary of Quantico Marine Base and going east to Bristersburg, then either through Nokesville or branching off to skirt Vint Hill Farms, following the FauquierPrince William boundary.

Guessing at which western routes will be selected for further study, McNear said “the new corridor is most logical if the eastern route goes with a Rt. 301 bridge.,” Then the intersection of the new bypass and Interstate 66 would probably come at Gainesville or Haymarket, he added.

According to the maps, another option for a bypass-interstate junction is at Thoroughfare Gap, where an interchange was initially planned but deleted in the early 1970s in the face of opposition from environmental groups and the Fauquier Board. With this configuration, the superhighway could cut through the family farm of Fauquier Supervisor Georgia Herbert, an outspoken critic of the western bypass.

Should an eastern bypass cross the Potomac with a new bridge at Dumfries, then the most logical route for a western bypass would be along the Route 234 corridor through Prince William and into Loudoun, the Fauquier planning director noted.