History

Main Street has evolved from the 'Great Road' of the 18th and 19th centuries to what is now Business Route 7 with the parallel Route 7 Bypass to the north. Along Main Street, the Town has grown beyond its historical downtown center, in the vicinity of 21st Street, to include a second, more contemporary commercial center on the east side of the Town. The Main Street and Maple Avenue intersection forms the hub of the contemporary center, with Main Street and Maple Avenue providing access to the shopping district via numerous driveways. Purcellville's contemporary center, and thus the Main Street and Maple Avenue intersection, serves not only Purcellville residents, but much of western Loudoun County.

The Main Street and Maple Avenue intersection is the one of the busiest intersections in the Town. On weekdays, the intersection experiences two peaks, one morning and one afternoon that are both related to heavy school bus traffic that travels through the intersection to go to Loudoun Valley High School, Harmony Intermediate School, and Blue Ridge Middle School.

In 2004, Town Council prioritized this intersection as being the first to be improved along Main Street given that the existing configuration of the intersection makes it unable to efficiently handle the traffic volumes. In late 2004, the Town completed near-term improvements to the intersection by re-striping the existing lane configuration and modifying the signal timing.

In 2005, the Town published the Main Street and Maple Avenue - Transportation Study Report of Findings and Design Concepts which analyzed various alternative intersection layouts and their impacts on the existing intersection. The study determined that the alterative with the least impacts to right-of-way was the preferred alternative. It included adding right-turn lanes and upgrading the traffic signal as well as widening sidewalks. The anticipated success of this alternative accommodating future traffic volumes depended on the construction of the Route 7/690 interchange as well as the Southern Collector Road. Following the completion of the transportation study, the Town produced 50% design documents for the improvements to the intersection and is currently updating the design documents.