Cedar Green Road Will Remain Open; VDOT To Study Closing

Business owners along Shaw Road, county fire and rescue representatives, Del. David Poisson (D-32) and Sen. Mark Herring (D-33) temporarily won a battle with the Virginia Department of Transportation regarding the Rt. 28 Highway Improvement Project.

VDOT had planned to close direct access to Cedar Green Road, which would have taken away a major access point to businesses on Shaw Road, one of which has located there for decades.

But the coalition was able to stop the change and VDOT has agreed to study safety concerns associated with closing the road because of a potential increase in emergency response time and the difficulty drivers will have navigating their way to Shaw Road businesses.

"If the road is closed, we have a lot of concerns about access for fire and safety," Herring said during a brief press conference Oct. 27.

As planned now, customers and employees heading to businesses such as Tart Lumber Company, which has a 50-year history in the region, and Belfort Furniture must follow one of two complicated routes: either exit at Sterling Boulevard heading east, weave through traffic to the left lane and immediately turn left onto Shaw Road; or take the Church Road exit toward Sterling, turn left on Davis Drive, right on Shaw Road, left on Shaw Road and, finally, left on Shaw Road.

The signage for the Church Road route leads through two intersections where Shaw Road meets Shaw Road, raising concerns about whether safety personnel would be able to find their destination in an emergency.

Now, drivers on northbound Rt. 28 have the option of making a direct right-hand turn onto Cedar Green, which comes to a stop sign at Shaw Road near the businesses questioning the closure of the route. Drivers on southbound Rt. 28 have the option of accessing the businesses by using the Sterling Boulevard or Church Road routes, or by turning around at the Sterling Boulevard interchange and taking a right on Cedar Green.

"It's been a struggle all along the Rt. 28 corridor," said Douglas G. Rambo, commissioner of the Fire Rescue Commission, "but more specifically in this instance to get VDOT to focus on the public safety issues."

Rambo said if Cedar Green access closes, it would force emergency vehicles trying to get to those businesses to use the two-lane Shaw Road route where shoulders are lacking, construction vehicles are working and two hotels will be located, generating more traffic. The introduction of emergency vehicles traveling at high speeds along Shaw Road would not be safe, he said.

Rambo has been a regular critic of the Rt. 28 public-private project of which VODT has oversight. He has concentrated on safety problems with the project's construction and planning, often working with the Loudoun Transportation Safety Committee Chairman Dick Zeits to put pressure on VDOT.

During the press conference last week, he referred to an answer he got when asking about access to Wegman's and other businesses on the west side of Rt. 28 after the closure of Commercial Drive: "I was advised to drive in oncoming traffic lanes against oncoming traffic and pick my way through it," Rambo said. "I found that to be an outrageous response."

Business owners are concerned, not just because of an anticipated drop in customer traffic, but also because of safety concerns for employees and customers.

"I think as a business park we've been overlooked for a long time," said Michael Huber, CEO of Belfort Furniture, referring to VDOT and the public-private partnership constructing the improvements. "They weren't listening to us. Sen. Herring and Del. Poisson have been a breath of fresh air."

Craig Fritsche, vice president for Tart Lumber, concurred. "It's been difficult to get VDOT to listen to our concerns. We slowly got orphaned in the process," he said.

In addition, he said the changes already made as part of the project have impacted business and he's concerned the impact could be worse if the Cedar Green access is closed.

"We have seen a noticeable difference in walk-in business," he said.

Poisson acknowledged a series of signs, which he referred to as "VDOT totem poles," that direct drivers to the Belfort location where several other businesses besides the furniture store and Tart Lumber are located. However, because the project has changed over time, and other projects that the state was expected to construct nearby have not been completed because of a lack of funding, the situation has shifted and new concerns must be addressed. The lack of surrounding improvements, such as the widening of Shaw Road, impedes traffic on side roads, he and Herring said, making navigation more difficult than had been expected when the Rt. 28 improvements were planned.

"Conditions in that area have changed significantly, and how we respond to those changes, especially where the safety of customers and the employees in that area are concerned, has to be different now, too," Herring said.

Poisson said a little leeway was in order for impacted businesses because commercial landowners in the Rt. 28 Tax District are paying for three-quarters of the cost of the interchange improvements through an additional 20 cents per $100 of assessed real estate value they pay.

"All we're asking for is some consideration in return for the contributions they've made to make the Rt. 28 corridor all it can be," Poisson said.

The two legislators, Fritsche, Huber and Rambo all thanked Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer for agreeing to the study. Susan Shaw, VDOT's Rt. 28 project manager, said the cost of the study has not been determined because all of the details of the study have not been identified.

"We are pleased the secretary has called for this review before making a decision that could potentially have life-or-death consequences," Rambo said.

Huber thanked Homer for leaving Cedar Green open.

"We're so happy they're going to leave an entrance that's viable," he said.