FAIRFAX, Va. β Fairfax County is considering removing two hills along Lee Chapel Road in Fairfax County, and now officials during a town hall Wednesday night announced they have the funding to potentially move forward.
In January, two South County High School students, Ariana Haftsavar, 16, and Ashlyn Brotemarkle, 16, were killed and another student was seriously hurt in a crash on Lee Chapel Road.
"I wish I was there. I ask her to forgive us. If we were with her at this moment maybe this wouldn't have happened," said Bahman Haftsavar, Ariana's father.
He told WUSA9 his daughter would have turned 17 on August 12.
"She was one person, but to us she was everything. She left us without saying goodbye," he said in an interview with WUSA9 Wednesday night.
Police said evidence from the crash, showed that the Lexus was traveling 100.7 mph before the crash. Police also said the car was airborne for about 130 feet.
After the crash, the community began a push for change. Sophie Powell and Meera Jariwala who were both classmates of the teens who were killed, created a petition. Nearly 14,000 people signed the petition, calling on the county to improve Lee Chapel Road.
While police would not confirm if the teens were "hill jumping", Supervisor Herrity told WUSA9 the hills along Lee Chapel Road are notorious for exactly that.
"The hill is an attractive nuisance. It is encouraging our younger drivers to hill jump," said Herrity.
In February, he and other Fairfax County supervisors met with VDOT and FCDOT.
By the end of March, Herrity told WUSA9 that FCDOT and VDOT came back to them with three possible options:
- Removal of the principal hill (this would include two 11-foot lanes and a 6-foot shoulder on each side of the roadway and assumes VDOT would allow the roadβs full closure during construction which would save about $2M in costs just related to maintenance of traffic were it to remain open).
- Removal of both hills (this also includes two 11-foot lanes and a 6-foot shoulder on each side of the roadway and assumes VDOT would allow the roadβs full closure during construction).
- Relocate the roadway as the first phase of the four-lane widening as shown on the comprehensive plan. This would construct a new two-lane roadway to the east of the existing roadway adjacent to the hills only. The existing roadway could remain in use during most of the construction; however, it has a significant impact on park property.
In April, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity hosted a town hall, alongside Delegate Tran, Senator Barker, Supervisor Storck, Chairman McKay, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT).
On Wednesday night, another town hall was held.
At the start of the town hall, Senator Barker announced that he had secured $4 million in state funding. That amount, combined with the $5 million secured by the county over the summer, means if approved the county can move forward option two, the removal of two hills along Lee Chapel Road.
In July, Supervisor Herrity said the board supported his motion to adjust the Transportation Priorities Plan to provide initial funding of $5 million for the Lee Chapel Road safety project.
He says this brings the total secured funding to $9 million, the amount needed to fund the eliminate the two hills and include two 11-foot lanes and a 6-foot shoulder on each side of the roadway. By addressing the hills and bringing the road up to current design and safety standards, Supervisor Herrity says it will remove the incentive to βcatch airβ and improve overall safety on this stretch of roadway.
Supervisor Herrity says there will be additional meetings before a final decision on the design of the roadway is made, and before any construction along Lee Chapel Road begins.
"There's a lot of complications. Underground utilities that need to be relocated. The biggest complication is park land which requires a federal process when you take park land even though it's owned by our own park authority," said Supervisor Herrity.
He told WUSA9 Wednesday night that the next meeting will likely not be for another year.