SPORTS: The Solheim Cup is coming to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club next month. PAGE 8
August 15, 2024 | Vol. 23, No. 34 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $2.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Caravans of dump trucks pose hazards, residents say Data center fill dirt creates boon for some while neighbors suffer By Peter Cary
Piedmont Journalism Foundation
On the gravel road in front of Lisa Park’s Nokesville home, the dump truck parade starts at 6 a.m. On a typical day, 100 trucks, sometimes more, speed by on her country lane, dust and rocks spewing off their backs. The caravans don’t stop until 6 p.m. “They are not covered, and they’re fully loaded with dirt and rocks. I’ve got chips in my windshield from them,” she said. Her road, Reid Lane, which is north of Fitzwater Drive and just one and a half lanes wide, is a washboard from truck traffic. “They don’t yield the right-of-way if you’re
coming at them,” she said. Her experience is repeated all over western Prince William County, from Bull Run Mountain to south of Nokesville, residents say. They complain about trucks running stop signs, cutting corners at intersections and sometimes forcing cars off the roads. Or worse. Last December, Mike Crabill posted a video on Facebook showing a dump truck trying to pass another on Valley View Lane. It ran off the road, taking out two trees and a mailbox and then bouncing back across the road, ending up on a front lawn. Somehow, no one was injured. Martha White said a different truck clipped another one it was passing on Old Church Road and went into a ditch, taking out a light pole and cutting off power to the area. Another resident, Paul See DIRT, page 4
PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD
A road crew works to patch an area of Parkgate Road likely damaged by heavy dump truck traffic.
New plans for Belmont Bay drop ‘marina district’ shops, restaurants Proposal would add 358 homes; residents remain skeptical By Evelyn Mejia Staff Writer
PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD
FLYING HIGH AT THE COUNTY FAIR Four young fairgoers enjoy a ride at the Prince William County Fair, which continues through Saturday, Aug. 17. Find more fair pictures online at www. princewilliamtimes.com. For fair tickets and a full schedule, visit www.pwcfair.com.
Meals are free to students at all Manassas, Manassas Park schools, page 3
Until earlier this year, the developer behind Belmont Bay had pitched a “marina district” for the waterfront community that proposed a mix of about 1,400 new apartments and condominiums, along with space for several shops and restaurants. Now, that plan is dead, and a new developer is proposing about 1,000 fewer residences and no large commercial space. On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Belmont Bay residents got their first look at the new proposal by Miller & Smith. The homebuilder is already constructing 92 age-restricted townhomes in the Woodbridge community, which will bring the total number of homes there to about 1,400. Originally approved by the Prince William Board of Supervisors in 1999, Belmont Bay is one of the area’s only waterfront communities along the Occoquan River. The new plan comes after the
original developer, Caruthers Properties LLC, withdrew its 2021 rezoning application in January after a two-year legal battle with the Belmont Bay Homeowners Association. The earlier proposal featured an ambitious waterfront “marina district” with apartments, shops, restaurants and a launching dock for a weekend ferry service to Alexandria. But it met stiff opposition from Belmont Bay residents concerned about traffic and congestion in what is now a relatively quiet community. Last week, more than 100 residents packed a room at The Ospreys at Belmont Bay to learn about the latest plans, which cover about 160 acres. The large commercial district is gone, and only 358 new townhomes are planned. Seventy-four would be built along the waterfront, while another 284 would be constructed on the former golf course, which closed in 2015. See BELMONT BAY, page 2
New bargain ‘bin’ store opens in Warrenton, page 4
88 DULLES, VA
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