A long-gestating project to widen East Elden Street will no longer move utilities along the Herndon corridor underground.
The Herndon Town Council approved a resolution on May 28 authorizing the removal of a utility duct bank from the project’s scope after town staff reported that costs had drastically increased from an earlier $57.3 million estimate.
The Virginia Department of Transportation, which will administer the project, told the town in January that it now projected a $89 million price tag, raising the town’s obligation to “the neighborhood of $24 million,” Herndon Deputy Director of Public Works John Irish told the council at a May 21 work session.
“When they came to us with that, it was not just a shock, but it was a kind of expectation that we were to accept their numbers and just proceed forward,” Irish said, adding that town staff let VDOT know that wouldn’t work. “…Obviously, the town is not prepared to spend $24 million any time soon.”
Halting the project altogether would also be difficult, bringing “severe penalties,” since the town has already assembled $61 million in federal, state and regional funding, according to Irish.
However, VDOT confirmed the actual road work could move forward as designed, while leaving the utilities above ground. Without the utility undergrounding, the the main project would cost approximately $71 million, which could be covered with grant funds previously reserved for the duct bank, Town Manager Bill Ashton said.
The resolution authorizing the duct bank to be removed from the project was approved at last week’s town council meeting without discussion as part of the consent agenda.
In the works since at least 2016, the East Elden Street widening project will expand the road to six lanes with a raised median between Fairfax County Parkway and Herndon Parkway, add the median and dedicated turning lanes until Van Buren Street, and reduce it to two lanes with a left turn lane at Monroe Street, per the town’s project page.
Other planned changes include a bridge over Sugarland Run to address flooding, better traffic signalization, updated bus stop amenities and wider sidewalks. Bicycle lanes will be added from Monroe Street to Herndon Parkway, along with cycle tracks on both sides from Herndon Parkway to Fairfax County Parkway.
Though VDOT’s project page currently says construction on the widening is scheduled to begin in early 2025, Herndon town staff indicated that it’ll take another two years for work to start.
“It is anticipated that by maintaining utilities above ground instead of relocating them underground, the project will be enabled to be scheduled for construction bid advertisement in year 2027,” town staff said in a memo.
