Fairfax County is pinning all its hopes for a new round of regional transportation funding on a single major project, but local travelers could also benefit from some of the other contenders.
As authorized last fall by the Board of Supervisors, the county is seeking $463 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for its planned “The One” bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which would serve nine stations along a 7.4-mile stretch of Richmond Highway, also known as Route 1, from Huntington to Fort Belvoir.
Coordinated with a widening of Route 1 by the Virginia Department of Transportation, utility relocation work is currently underway, and construction is expected to begin in 2028.
The county has received $330 million from NVTA so far to support the project, which carries an estimated cost of nearly $987.3 million. Coupled with funding for VDOT’s road widening project, the authority has invested a total of $638 million in the corridor, according to a spokesperson.
The Richmond Highway BRT is one of 27 projects submitted to NVTA for its fiscal years 2026-2031 Six Year Program, which allocates regional funds for transportation infrastructure improvements.
The list also includes the Town of Herndon’s bid for $15.57 million to fund improvements along a 0.4-mile segment of South Elden Street from Sterling Road to Herndon Parkway.
Under a plan for the South Elden area adopted in 2019, the town hopes to redesign the section to be more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly, with an 8-foot-wide shared-use path. Currently five lanes, the street would be narrowed to four travel lanes with a raised median, dedicated turn lanes and potential BRT facilities.
Two BRT lines have been proposed in that part of Elden Street, requiring bus stops, pull-off bays and signal modifications, according to the project summary. Exclusive bus lanes, however, likely won’t be included.
“Other improvements include LED traffic/bike/pedestrian signalization, streetlighting, ADA curb cuts, sidewalks, and paver crosswalks,” the town’s project description says. “The purpose of this project is to enhance safety and multimodal circulation for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, facilitating access to local and regional destinations.”
Herndon hasn’t received any funding for this particular project from NVTA before. Its request would cover about half of the $31.57 million cost.
Falls Church City also submitted two projects that would directly affect transportation in Fairfax County: a shared-use path on Haycock Road and multimodal improvements for Annandale Road.
The $15 million sought for the Haycock Road path would cover nearly the entire project, which would add a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the road’s east side to better connect city schools and new development around the West Falls Church Metro station to the nearby Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
Falls Church is developing the project in parallel with a shared-use path that Fairfax County plans to build along Shreve Road west of Leesburg Pike (Route 7) in Idylwood.
The Annandale Road project would bring wider sidewalks, bicycle improvements, crosswalks, ADA ramps, signal and intersection changes, and utility undergrounding to the South Washington Street and Hillwood Avenue intersections. While the scope is fully within the city’s boundaries, the traffic impacts could spill across boundary lines into Fairfax County.
According to the project description:
Shortening crossing distances and providing pedestrian signal heads reduces potential conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles. Tightening intersection geometry and narrowing travel lanes slows vehicular traffic. ADA ramp improvements enhance accessibility. All these improvements will help to increase safety at and adjacent two of the City’s least comfortable intersections.
Falls Church is seeking $30 million from NVTA to fund the full project.
In addition, one of two projects put forward by Loudoun County would extend into Fairfax. The county to the west is requesting $200 million from NVTA for a four-lane collector road that would run parallel to Route 50 from Tall Cedars Blvd to Route 28 in Chantilly.
Intended to relieve traffic congestion on a segment of Route 50 that’s projected to average 95,400 trips a day by 2040, the new road would feature three signalized intersections, a 10-foot-wide shared-use path, and improvements at several existing intersections, including Willard Road, Stonecroft Blvd and Pleasant Valley Road.
An improved culvert for Cub Run and an underpass at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udver Hazy Center taxiway are also proposed.
“This new four-lane facility is the result of close collaboration between the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Loudoun County and Fairfax County,” the project description says.
NVTA has awarded over $55 million to Loudoun for the Route 50 North Collector Road in the past. The requested amount would get the county closer to the estimated cost of $400.7 million.
In total, NVTA received applications from eight different Northern Virginia jurisdictions that collectively seek $1.265 billion in funding.
The authority is accepting public input on the submitted projects through 11:59 p.m. on May 17, including at a public hearing at 7 p.m. on May 14 that will be held both virtually and in person at the NVTA offices (2600 Park Tower Drive) in Merrifield.
NVTA will officially adopt its new Six Year Program on July 9.
