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The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority has approved funding for the city of Manassas to transform the current intersection at Sudley Road, Centreville Road and Prescott Avenue just northeast of Old Town into a $3.8 million roundabout.
Matthew Arcieri, director of planning and community development for the city, presented the City Council with an update on capital improvement program transportation projects in the city during a July 15 work session.
The roundabout has been approved for funding from the authority after funding for the project was snubbed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE grant program for the third time in 2022. The goal of the roundabout is to make the area safer and quicker for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, city officials said.
“The big piece of news we have here is this project is now fully funded for construction by the NVTA, so no local dollars,” Arcieri told the council. “They looked at this project, and it was actually ranked fifth in the region out of 24 projects … we compete very well against the big guys.”
Plans for the roundabout are still in the design stage, with 90% of the design having been finalized, according to Arcieri.
Arcieri also told the council that design plans for the Mathis Avenue streetscape enhancements are 60% complete. The project will be fully funded with revenue share from various sources.
The beautification project along Mathis Avenue from Sudley to Liberia Avenue will include a tree-lined median and planting strips along both sidewalks. Through the project, the city hopes to attract redevelopment along the corridor with more mixed-use residential and commercial space.
Both the roundabout and Mathis Avenue projects are estimated to start construction in late 2025.
“We are incredibly successful as a community, hitting above our weight,” Arcieri added. “In the last seven years, we have gotten over $45 million in state and federal funding for all the projects I just mentioned. The success of your transportation program is measured not just in what we build and what ends up on the streets, but also that we’re able to pay for it not using local dollars.”
Arcieri mentioned progress being made on the Grant Avenue project, which is ahead of schedule, as well as the Sudley Road third-lane project, which begins construction next month.
Also underway are several bike and pedestrian paths, including new sidewalks on Longbridge Road, Dumfries Road and Sudley Road.
