Quartz District - Gorove Slade

Creating a Connected Community Hub Through Innovative Transportation Design

Description

The Quartz District represents a transformative 145-acre mixed-use development at the intersection of Prince William Parkway and Minnieville Road in Prince William County, Virginia. This ambitious project will bring together 1,015 residential units; 232,000 square feet of office space; 136,000 square feet of retail; dining venues; and more to create a vibrant, walkable neighborhood center. The Quartz District presents a vision for how transportation infrastructure can enable connectivity and economic vitality in communities that have historically been car-centric in their design.

Challenges We Addressed

The Quartz District site presented complex transportation challenges. One key example is the existing intersection of Minnieville Road and Prince William Parkway, which was already operating below acceptable standards, struggling to handle current traffic volumes. Adding a major mixed-use development to this location demanded a comprehensive reimagining of the existing infrastructure and creation of plans that could maintain traffic flow once built but also during the lengthy construction period.

Further, the project’s location near the seat of county government meant heightened scrutiny and the need to serve a diverse user base that includes commuters, residents, and county employees. Perhaps most importantly, the development’s vision as a pedestrian-oriented, walkable community required transportation solutions that prioritized at-grade accessibility and visibility for commercial activity while accommodating substantial vehicle traffic volumes.

Our Transportation Engineering Solutions

Gorove Slade provided comprehensive transportation engineering services that went far beyond traditional planning practices. Our initial involvement began during the Rezoning phase, which included a Traffic Impact Study to understand the existing traffic operations and review the impacts of the additional trips being added to the network. Early on in the process, it became clear that the intersection of Minnieville Road and Prince William Parkway was an area of concern to the community, and a regional solution would create a significant benefit to this area. In coordination with VDOT and the County we worked to analyze options for different interchanges and innovative improvements to optimize this intersection which serves as a major crossroad.

Innovative Interchange Justification: Working collaboratively with Prince William County and Buchanan Partners, we developed and justified a configuration known as a Single-Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) with an underpass. Our team demonstrated how this design would keep all four corners of the intersection viable for at-grade commercial activity—a crucial requirement for the pedestrian experience and commercial visibility that makes mixed-use developments successful.

VDOT’s Innovative Intersections: Single-Point Urban Interchange

Comprehensive Site Integration: Our vehicle and pedestrian mobility planning ensures seamless integration between the new development and the surrounding transportation infrastructure. We conducted detailed vehicle maneuvering analysis to optimize delivery vehicle access, recognizing that successful mixed-use developments require efficient logistics behind the scenes.

Maintenance of Traffic Innovation: During the construction phase, left-turn restrictions and reduced lanes at the intersection created significant operational challenges. In response, our team coordinated with RDA (designer of the interchange), on a maintenance traffic plan that kept the area functional for residents, businesses, and commuters throughout the construction period.

Comprehensive Signal Design: Our team developed three distinct traffic signal plans designed with remarkable flexibility—accommodating both the ultimate roadway configurations and interim conditions during construction. This dual-purpose approach included a temporary bypass road that maintained traffic flow during the critical interchange construction phase. By reviewing all phases, we were able to set up infrastructure in places that could accommodate all phases, therefore removing costs that would be needed for future signal modifications.

Collaborative Partnerships and Community Impact

This project exemplifies the power of public-private coordination. Gorove Slade worked within a unique collaboration structure where Prince William County secured funding and facilitated the construction of the interchange, while Buchanan Partners funded the design and implementation. Our role was to bridge these interests, along with facilitating an ongoing collaboration with VDOT, ensuring that public infrastructure investments aligned with private development goals while serving the broader community’s transportation needs.

Our maintenance of traffic analysis solutions minimize disruption during construction, recognizing that transportation projects must serve existing residents even as they enable future growth. The project’s location at a key crossroads among several major roads means our solutions will benefit far more than just the immediate development.

Our success in coordinating multiple phases, regulatory requirements, and stakeholder interests while maintaining traffic flow demonstrates the depth of planning and execution that complex transportation projects require. We’re particularly proud to develop an interchange solution that maintains commercial viability at grade level—a design approach that recognizes how transportation infrastructure shapes community interaction and economic activity.

Looking to the Future

When the development reaches full operation, the intersection will handle significantly increased traffic volumes while providing better operations than before development began. More importantly, the transportation infrastructure will support a new model of community development in Prince William County—one where transportation design enables rather than restricts community connectivity and economic opportunity.

The Quartz District is transforming a currently undeveloped site into a vital community hub where people can live, work, shop, and connect. And Gorove Slade’s work on the project demonstrates how transportation engineering can be a catalyst for positive community change, creating infrastructure that doesn’t just move traffic but builds places where people want to be.

Details

Client: Buchanan Partners
Location: Woodbridge, VA
Land Use: Mixed Use

Photos courtesy of Buchanan Parters / Quartz District

” Gorove Slade was instrumental in dealing with the numerous transportation issues that had to be addressed during our rezoning of the Quartz District project. This included guiding us through VDOT’s grueling interchange pre-approval requirements. Their expertise in developing the interchange concept and understanding of the regulatory landscape was invaluable at both the local and state levels. This collaboration required a transportation engineering partner who could think strategically about all aspects of the process and the project, and Gorove Slade delivered. We’re proud to call them our partner on multiple development projects in Prince William County, and additionally in Loudoun County and Fairfax Counties.”

Russell S. Gestl

Principal, Buchanan Partners