The announcement last month that the state is officially cancelling the ill-conceived plan to build a bridge structure over Dunn Loring Metro station is certainly good news.  It is an example of what citizens can accomplish when they get involved.  But this concrete monster plan emerged from VDOT in the cloak of secrecy after designs had been publicly reviewed in 2015.   What else remains to be unveiled by VDOT?

VDOT and its partners will likely move the WMATA Metrorail traction power substation that is in the way of their I-66 expansion.

Because VDOT had already quietly accepted the bridge plan in the private concessionaire’s proposal, the state taxpayers are now on the hook for any increase in private costs caused by an alternative approach (and would receive part of the savings if it happens to be cheaper).

From the Washington Post:

VDOT scraps plan for flyover ramp at Dunn Loring Metro station

Virginia transportation officials have scrapped plans to build a flyover ramp near the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station and instead will find another way to deal with a Metro power substation that sits in the path of its planned expansion of Interstate 66.

The announcement by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) drew cheers from area residents, who were fearful that the concrete structure would disrupt their quiet neighborhood and hurt their property values.

But for many residents of the community in northeastern Fairfax County, the victory is just one win in a protracted fight over the project.

The ramp was part of a $2.3 billion project to add two toll lanes and three regular lanes in each direction on I-66, from Gainesville, in Prince William County, to the Capital Beltway in an effort to ease congestion on the perennially gridlocked highway.

“We’re very encouraged by it,” resident Mary Hagopian said. “But I don’t think the fight is over.”

The full story continues in the Washington Post.