Fairfax County might soon start making headway on intersection improvements slated for funding by the Reston Transportation Service District created nearly a decade ago.
The advisory board that provides input on the district’s tax rate and priorities voted without objection on Tuesday (March 10) to request that the county allocate $1 million each to initiate analyses of proposed projects on Reston Parkway at Bluemont Way and New Dominion Parkway as well as one for Hunter Mill Road at Sunset Hills Road.
“We need to catch up and start actually paying for what we’re supposed to be paying for,” board chair Adam Rubinstein said, noting that project costs will only continue to climb the longer it takes for the county to begin work.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the board’s nine current members ranked those projects as their top priorities out of the eight that the service district is obligated to eventually fund as part of the 40-year Reston Transportation Funding Plan adopted by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in February 2017.
Created that April to help fund the plan, the service district collects an annual tax from property owners in Reston’s Transit Station Areas (TSAs) with the goal of generating $139 million in 2016 dollars over 40 years, including approximately $44.6 million for the proposed intersection improvements and $94 million to support a new grid of streets.
Thanks to inflation, however, construction, supply and labor costs have ballooned, increasing the service district’s estimated total contribution to $226 million — $82.5 million for the intersection projects and $169 million for the grid of streets, as of 2025.
Faced with a $94 million gap between the revenue the district needs to generate by the end of its 40-year life and what it’s currently on track to generate, the advisory board recommended last September dropping three intersection projects that the county had subsequently tacked onto the service district’s funding commitments.
With the intersection project list back down to its original eight, Rubinstein suggested on Tuesday that it’s time for the county to start allocating some of the $47.1 million that the service district has raised so far over its nine years of existence.
The Reston Parkway and Bluemont Way intersection topped the advisory board’s priority rankings based in part on crash data, which indicated that it was the site of the most crashes overall, the most involving pedestrians and the most severe crashes, according to Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) Director Gregg Steverson.
With an estimated total cost of $7.4 million, the project’s initial scope calls for restriping the northbound lanes, replacing the existing traffic signal, bringing all ramps up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and adding any necessary stormwater management facilities.
However, the proposed design for that intersection and the others could change based on what a new analysis determines is needed at the intersection.
“Some projects might not happen how they were planned based on current conditions,” Steverson told the advisory board. “What we were thinking in 2017 might be different from 2030 … The goal is to get through a decision or project for all eight [sites].”
Currently proposed changes at New Dominion Parkway and Reston Parkway include a restriping of the eastbound New Dominion lanes, installation of bicycle lanes on or along New Dominion and Temporary Road, a widening of eastbound Temporary Road to fit a receiving lane, a signal replacement, and crosswalk ramps and stormwater management updates.
Gary Maupin, the advisory board’s vice chair and one of two Hunter Mill District representatives, urged the county to consider pedestrian safety issues on New Dominion, including potential conflicts with cyclists if bicycle lanes are added.
“The design study will look at that,” Steverson said.
Another board member asked if the scope of the projects could expand to include the segment of Reston Parkway in between New Dominion and Bluemont, given their proximity, or if all of Bluemont Way could be evaluated, not just the intersection.
“The good thing is you’ll find more stuff. The bad thing is also you’ll find more stuff,” Steverson explained, referring to the increased costs that would come with more expansive projects.
The estimated cost of the New Dominion project is currently $9.25 million.
Steverson noted that FCDOT is already expecting to address issues, such as ADA ramps, that weren’t necessarily anticipated when the county approved the Reston Transportation Funding Plan, which focused primarily on improvements for drivers.
The county could also hire the same consultant to study both the Bluemont and New Dominion Parkway projects to ensure they’re coordinated, he added.
As currently proposed, the approximately $6.5 million Hunter Mill Road and Sunset Hills Road project would restripe southbound Hunter Mill to combine the thru and right-turn lanes, replace the traffic signal, and add 5-foot-wide bike lanes.
When a board member questioned the prioritization of this project compared to improvements to the eastbound Dulles Toll Road’s ramps to Wiehle Avenue, which was ranked last, Steverson agreed that FCDOT “would probably have to look at” that adjacent intersection.
“It will be tricky,” he warned.
The project could be further complicated by the county’s recommendation, adopted in 2018, that Sunset Hills Road be realigned with Crowell Road to the north. A developer looking to build housing near the Sunset Hills/Hunter Mill intersection suggested last year that it could incorporate the realignment into its proposal, but the Fairfax County Planning Commission found too many outstanding issues to advance the pitch.
Recalling that a neighbor had her car “totaled” at the intersection, Rubinstein rattled off a list of issues that need to be addressed, including sight issues with the hill on the southbound side of Hunter Mill and a too-short right turn lane onto Sunset Hills that leads to traffic backups.
“That whole intersection needs to change,” Rubinstein said.
The advisory board’s recommendations of the funding allocations, the removal of the three extra intersection projects, and a flat fiscal year 2027 tax rate of 21 cents per $100 of assessed value must still be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
