Route-123 overpass funding secured

Mason’s Fairfax campus is one step closer to construction of a congestion-easing overpass to connect the east and west sides of the university after an announcement last week that part of the funds for the $15 million project will come from Gov. McDonnell’s “Six-Year Improvement Program.”

Plans for the vehicle and pedestrian overpass above Route-123 between the Mason Inn and the Braddock Road exit at the West Campus parking lot have been in the works since 2010 when the university created a master plan for an overpass, according to Josh Cantor, director of parking and transportation at Mason.

Planners have held numerous meetings between the university, city officials, state officials and the community to determine what the overpass project will include.  The funding will be a combination of monies from both Fairfax County and the state Department of Transportation.

According to the blog, Mason’s Mortarboard, there is a “slight chance” the overpass could become an underpass, but there are more safety and logistics concerns attached to an underpass.  Construction on the project is set to begin in summer 2012 and will take about a year and a half to complete.

The exact specifics of the project are still being engineered, but planners hope the end result will ease congestion for people coming to and from campus as well as drivers in the surrounding community.
 

C2M’s Amanda Hamm contributed to this report.