Two roadway projects set to transform Richmond Highway will take longer to implement than anticipated.
The Virginia Department of Transportation’s project set to expand a portion of the four-lane roadway to six lanes is now expected to be completed in 2032 — six years after the once-targeted 2026 time frame.
“The timeline for the Richmond Highway Improvements Project has been extended to implement requests for design changes, including a reduction in the number of turn lanes, and an updated construction schedule,” VDOT spokesperson Alex Liggitt told FFXnow.
A roughly three-mile stretch of Richmond Highway, between Hybla Valley’s Sherwood Hall Lane and Jeff Todd Way near Fort Belvoir, will be widened in two phases, according to VDOT plans.
The first phase, from Jeff Todd Way to Frye Road, is currently scheduled to begin in mid-2028. Construction on the remaining stretch is expected to begin in the middle of 2029.
The project, which hopes to “improve safety, reduce congestion, and help increase the community’s multimodal options,” is currently being slightly reworked to make certain cross-sections more “pedestrian-friendly,” according to Fairfax County. The land needed for the project is also currently being secured.
VDOT’s project page for the road widening estimates a total cost of $465 million, but Liggett said the department doesn’t have an updated cost estimate “at this time.”
Accordingly, delays to the road widening project will affect the schedule of a bus infrastructure project that Fairfax County was slated to build after the new lanes open.
The Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project will establish nine bus stops between the Huntington Metro station and Hybla Valley and got federal approval to begin engineering earlier this year.
The dedicated bus lanes are expected to take approximately one year to finish after the road widening, according to the county. The BRT system, which has been named The One, was previously targeting 2030 for beginning operations.
Now, VDOT will build the transit lanes for the bus system, allowing the construction to happen at the same time as the road widening, the county said. The switch has reduced the expected delay by roughly two years, from 2035 to 2033.
Fairfax County says its staff is continuing to work with VDOT “to seek ways to reduce the delay even further.”
“I will continue to work to minimize any delays in the schedule so that we can move forward with our partners to create a modern, efficient and reliable transit system that meets the evolving needs of our vibrant community,” McKay said in a statement.
In the meantime, several residential properties along Richmond Highway are scheduled to be demolished this fall to make way for the future road widening and bus lanes, On the MoVe reported.
