No patrols, no police, no enforcement and lots of speeding — this is the reality for those who drive on Jeff Todd Way in Fairfax County.
“They do speed on that road,” commuter Jerome Grigsby said. “Actually because there’s nothing back there to tell them anything about ‘slow down, no speeding,’ no nothing."
The road opened about six years ago but it technically belongs to the Pentagon, so Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Transportation don’t have jurisdiction over it. Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay said this means the county can’t put signs on the road, reduce the speed limit, add street lights or reduce lane width.
“This is the kind of thing if you get angry at government; this is the poster child for why people get angry,” McKay said. “It’s unacceptable."
For years the paperwork to get the transfer of ownership to the county or state has been bogged down in bureaucracy. And in the meantime, the road is largely unpatrolled because the military police aren’t monitoring for speeders.
"I don’t think it’s a good thing,” commuter Tavon Bradford said. “I think the police should be able to go on any road they have to be on."
The Department of Defense hasn’t responded to requests for comment as of yet.
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“It should’ve been settled,” Grigsby said. “It shouldn’t have taken this long for this right here to happen.”
