Burning Question: When and where are the two segments of Russell Branch Parkway going to be connected? — Rolando R.
You pose a darn fine question, Rolando. As many residents in eastern Loudoun know, Russell Branch Parkway is broken up into two separate segments.
There is a segment that runs from Gloucester Parkway and the Kincora development near SR 28 and ends over behind the Belmont Chase shopping center, home to Whole Foods and the Cooper’s Hawk restaurant.
Then roughly 3.5 miles to the west, there is another piece of Russell Branch that runs by the Village at Leesburg center.
Given they have the same name and the official interest in providing alternative routes to reduce congestion on Route 7, one might guess there would be a plan to connect the two segments.
And one would be wrong. We checked with Loudoun County transportation officials who said a complete connection is not currently planned.
The sticking point seems to be Goose Creek. Someone would have to build a bridge over Goose Creek to accommodate the linking of the two roadways and no one is apparently pursuing that right now.
“Improvements to Russell Branch Parkway are not included in the Capital Improvement Program, so the Transportation Division does not have any short or long-term plans to connect the portions of the road,” wrote Shawn Zelman, the Communications Manager for the Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure, in an email.
Zelman says there are approved or proposed plans for an extension of Russell Branch from its current terminus by Whole Foods over to Belmont Ridge Road (marked in yellow and blue on the satellite image). But beyond that — nada.
“There are other applications west of … Belmont Ridge Road that have committed to provide right-of-way for Russell Branch Parkway, but no one is connecting it over the Goose Creek,” Zelman added.
So, there you go, Rolando. While Riverside Parkway on the north side of Route 7 now connects through from Ashburn to Leesburg, there is currently no equivalent plan to do so with Russell Branch on the south side.
If you’ve got a Burning Question for The Burn about something you’ve spotted in the area related to roads, restaurants, retail or other things we cover, send it to and we’ll see if we can get you an answer.