April 11-17, 2024

What do roads, bridges, walkways, cell towers, telephone and electric poles, and culverts have in common? They are all part of infrastructure – the system of facilities and services needed for the functioning of modern society. “Infrastructure” may not be a daily crossword or Wordle answer, but when infrastructure is operating as designed, few give it a second thought. We travel easily from place to place. Cell phones or landlines connect daily conversation and business. Electricity powers homes, businesses, and traffic signals. Stormwater is whisked away. It’s when infrastructure breaks down or is impaired, even for a few minutes or hours, that we realize how much we depend on visible and invisible infrastructure. We expect our daily journeys to be routine, so when a roadway, or even a lane or two, is closed for planned maintenance, tempers flare, and patience is tested. That goes double for a water main break or a tree that takes down power lines, emergencies that require special crews to be summoned, sometimes from a great distance.

Infrastructure sounds like bureaucratic governmental terminology, a catchall for many services, but the responsibility for building and maintaining infrastructure is divided among many entities, public and private. Most roadways in Fairfax County are maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), a state agency, not Fairfax County. Conveyances for electricity are built and maintained by Dominion Energy, which is regulated by the State Corporation Commission, not Fairfax County. Telephone service, whether landline or cell, is provided by multiple companies. Fairfax County regulates the location of cell towers, not the service, in its land use process. Responsibility for storm drainage conveyances and sidewalks usually is shared between the state agency (VDOT) and Fairfax County, depending on the location and outfall of the structure. The many components of infrastructure can be confusing to the taxpayer/ ratepayer, which is why constituents often call their district Supervisor when a problem occurs. The Supervisor’s office can locate the correct agency and report the issue but does not have direct oversight for most infrastructure repair and maintenance.

Above-the-ground infrastructure is easy to see; it’s what is below that may be the most fascinating. Water and gas pipes, some electric lines, and fiber optic cable, are underground, creating a tangle of mains, conduits, and pipes. Modern building codes mandate how and where lines are installed so that an electric line and water main are appropriately spaced for safety and service. Unfortunately, records sometimes are faulty for pipes installed decades ago. A routine maintenance issue at the busy intersection of Little River Turnpike and Braddock Road had to be re-engineered several years ago when the workers discovered that the underground water main and gas line were too close together. Even Miss Utility can be wrong! It is not unusual for a homeowner to find that the lateral (the pipe that runs from the main in the street to the home) was not where they thought it was, adding trenching time and expense to their project since the lateral is on the “private side” of the meter, and not the responsibility of the water or sewer provider. A reader suggested this infrastructure discussion, and a future column will discuss water and sewer service in greater detail. Some interesting things are going on underground!