The Board voted Tuesday to endorse the eastern route of the Tri-County Parkway.

That route starts at the intersection of Route 28 and the 234 Bypass in Manassas and runs northeast through the city to Bull Run Regional Park in Fairfax. From there it veers west, clipping the northeast side of the battlefield and turning north through South Riding in Loudoun and on to Dulles Airport.

It is that option, which was the preferred alternative in a citizen survey, that has run into problems because the Federal Highway Administration has said it may refuse to allow federal funds to be used for a segment of that route for environmental reasons.

The Board prefers "Option D" for the routing of the proposed Battlefield Bypass, which would handle the traffic after Rt. 29 is closed in the Manassas National Battlefield. [Gainesville Times]

The idea for a Battlefield Bypass was conceived in 1988 when Congress ordered a study of the feasibility of closing Route 234 and U.S. 29 inside the battlefield in order to preserve the historic park. Traffic would be rerouted onto a beltway around the battlefield.

The northern route around Manassas National Battlefield Park was the one backed by federal planners but opposed by many citizens. It was the third and final idea considered by supervisors on Tuesday, only after they had rejected the only two other feasible alternatives.

I've blogged before on the Battlefield Bypass.

One interesting wrinkle is the idea of building in protection against massive development in the new corridor:

Opponents of that option have expressed concern that it would encourage development around the county's Rural Crescent.

In order to prevent that from happening, the supervisors attached an amendment onto their endorsement of the northern route. The amendment states that the endorsement is conditional on the bypass being a limited-access road. It is also conditional on the creation of a historic bypass overlay district around the battlefield. Connaughton said the board could create a district that would ensure that the property will remain zoned for 10-acre lots. That should stop high-density development around the battlefield and keep the bypass from becoming a "developer's road," Connaughton said.

With the understanding that they will come back later to adopt the overlay, the supervisors voted 6-2 to endorse the northern route. Stewart and Stirrup opposed the resolution.

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