<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=04PEvO_0vkwrlM400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=04PEvO_0vkwrlM400" width="1100" height="1467" ></figure>Nearly two dozen residents gathered at the Bluemont Community Center on Wednesday night to share their reactions to the latest design concepts intended to improve safety on Rt. 7 west of Purcellville. The county government is conducting the study of the highway between the planned Rt. 690 interchange near Purcellville and the western county boundary. The 7.5-mile section includes eight at-grade intersections that are being examined for safety improvements.The work began with a community meeting in January to learn about residents’ concerns. This week, members of the county’s Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure and consultants from AECOM infrastructure constructing firm returned to present some short-term and long-term improvements that could address them.The conceptual designs unveiled at the meeting include dedicated U-turns lanes, a new roundabout, new intersection pavement markings—and lots of vegetation clearing to improve sight distances. The residents poured over the drawings and put their amateur traffic engineering skills to work to make suggestions. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=48dqNX_0vkwrlM400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=48dqNX_0vkwrlM400" width="1100" height="1255" ><figcaption>Paul Anderson, of&nbsp;infrastructure constructing firm&nbsp;AECOM, addresses residents during a Sept. 25, 2024, community meeting on the study of safety improvements in the Rt. 7 corridor.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>“The bottom line is, there's some intersections that are worse than others and we focused on trying to make improvements where we could to make that happen,” AECOM’s Paul Anderson said. Some short-term improvements could be made relatively quickly.“These are relatively minor things that we noticed out there—places where a crossover maybe didn't have a dividing line to help organize the traffic or stop bars to help them know where to line up to allow the left turn lanes to go. Some signage and pavement markings were missing. There’s a lot of places where vegetation is needed to be cleared back to help with sight distance that we're recommending,” he said. Other improvements will take more time and investment. The Rt. 7/Stoneleigh Drive intersection provides the most challenges. It is the entrance to a 140-home subdivision and also serves the Hill High commercial complex. One of the potential safety improvements is a proposal for dedicated U-turn lanes to eliminate traffic movements across the four-lane highway. Another major change is proposed in Round Hill, with West Loudoun Street and Simpsons Creek Road being rerouted and connecting at a roundabout. That option also envisions the elimination of the Simpsons Creek Road link to Rt. 7.Those concepts and others were posted to the project page on the county government’s website. The planners will be collecting feedback through an online survey through Oct. 25. After that, the planners will refine the concepts and present their recommendations this winter. A final report is expected to be presented early next year. The view the design proposals and make comments, go to loudoun.gov/route7weststudy.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Intersection Improvements Eyed in Western Rt. 7 Safety Study

Nearly two dozen residents gathered at the Bluemont Community Center on Wednesday night to share their reactions to the latest design concepts intended to improve safety on Rt. 7 west of Purcellville. The county government is conducting the study of the highway between the planned Rt. 690 interchange near Purcellville...