Following concerns about frequent traffic accidents and continuous speeding, the Virginia Department of Transportation is gathering feedback from residents via a public survey on the safety of Walker Road in Great Falls.
The survey, which will be active through this Friday (July 12), was initiated at the request of State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, Del. Rip Sullivan, and Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman. It aims to address safety issues along a 2-mile stretch from Colvin Run Road to Georgetown Pike.
An average of 4,750 to 5,130 vehicles a day drive within that area, according to VDOT.
At a virtual community meeting held on June 20, residents identified several issues along the roadway, including the need for traffic calming measures to reduce speeding, inadequate pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, the presence of heavy vehicles and a proposal to convert the one-lane bridge into two lanes.
“In my observation, the major issue and safety concern for Walker Road is to slow the traffic to a safe and reasonable speed,” one attendee said. “Sometimes the traffic is very fast on Walker Road, and with all the bends and curves, that certainly creates safety issues for everyone who uses the road.”
According to VDOT staff, there were 43 crashes on Walker Road between 2019 and 2023, 12% of which resulted in visible injuries and 88% in property damage only.
“Forty percent of those crashes were angle crashes, 28% rear-end crashes and 23% roadway departure crashes,” VDOT traffic engineer Siavash Mousavizadeh told attendees at the meeting.
Despite several curves designed to reduce speed and a posted speed limit of 35 mph, VDOT has recorded an average speed of 41 mph in both directions on the road, particularly on sections with straightaways, Mousavizadeh noted.
Additionally, attendees expressed concerns about VDOT’s proposal to replace a one-lane bridge over Piney Run with a two-lane bridge. They argued that the existing bridge helps calm traffic and fear the change will encourage drivers to speed even more.
“If we then go to the two-lane bridge, they’re going to be coming around that turn at a faster rate, going over the top of the hill within sight of my driveway, and I’m going to have a very difficult time pulling out,” an attendee said.
While acknowledging attendees’ concerns about replacing the bridge, VDOT staff and a representative from the North Carolina-based engineering consulting firm Kimley-Horn contend that the one-lane bridge also increases the risk of rear-end collisions and drivers veering off the road.
“So it’s a trade-off of, well, there is this traffic calming effect that you all have noted, and that’s important,” Kimley-Horn project manager Jourdyn Fuga said. “But then we also have a hazard of roadway departure…where you could be going off and then actually falling down a pretty steep area.”
Once the survey closes, VDOT will draft a report with recommendations for improvements to Walker Road by August and hold a follow-up community engagement meeting in September.
The study period is expected to wrap up in October.
VDOT anticipates advertising for a construction contractor on the Piney Run bridge replacement later this year with work potentially beginning in early 2025.
