Fairfax County is finally making progress on filling in sidewalk gaps along Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, though the project has created some temporary obstacles for pedestrians.
Construction on the Sunrise Valley Drive Walkway began on April 30 and is now on track to finish by the end of this week for one segment near Soapstone Drive, according to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
“The existing pedestrian facility along the north side of Sunrise Valley Drive between Reston Parkway and Soapstone Drive is not continuous,” FCDOT spokesperson Jennifer DeAngelis said. “The Sunrise Valley Drive Walkway project will complete these missing segments and improve the existing section in three separate segments.”
Once expected to begin construction in 2024, the 10-foot-wide walkway’s installation was slowed in part by complications with acquiring land rights to a parcel on the Sheraton Reston Hotel property at 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive. Property owner JBG Smith declined to grant the requested rights but eventually gifted the small parcel to Fairfax County in its entirety instead.
FCDOT and its contractor received the permits necessary for construction last November.
The pedestrian improvements are being implemented on the north side of Sunrise Valley Drive in three different segments:
- Segment 1: From Reston Parkway to just east of the Exxon gas station
- Segment 2: From the Sheraton hotel entrance to about 130 feet west
- Segment 3: From Soapstone Drive to a point about 260 feet to the west
Encompassing approximately 1,490 linear feet in total, the project is upgrading existing sidewalks in addition to adding new pavement. Workers are also installing Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps, high-visibility crosswalks, a median refuge island at the unsignalized Indian Ridge Road crossing, and new lighting and pedestrian signals at the Colts Neck Road intersection.
While the project should ultimately make the road safer and easier to walk, pedestrian access has been curtailed during construction.
According to FCDOT, a transportation management plan developed for the project enabled its construction contractor to use temporary traffic control measures, such as detour signs and barricades for pedestrians as well as single-lane closures outside of peak driving hours.
“Where feasible, additional space outside the grading limits has been reserved to allow pedestrians to bypass active construction areas,” FCDOT said.
However, detour and bypass options are limited. In addition to lacking public pedestrian facilities on its south side, except for a segment of sidewalk between Reston Parkway and Colts Neck Road, Sunrise Valley Drive didn’t have the space to accommodate temporary walkways around construction on the north side.
The Virginia Department of Transportation, which owns the road, requires even temporarily installed sidewalks to be accessible in compliance with the ADA, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn explained in a statement to FFXnow.
“In this instance the county could not provide fully accessible temporary pedestrian access during construction because doing so would have been challenging (e.g., trees would need to be removed) and actually impossible in some stretches,” he said by email. “I am asking VDOT to review their guidelines to offer more flexibility in situations like this one.”
DeAngelis says FCDOT has received one complaint from the community about pedestrian safety and access issues since construction began.
“The County is working diligently with the contractor to ensure the project is completed on schedule and ensure the contractor maintains pedestrian and vehicular safety during both working and non-working hours,” DeAngelis said. “We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation as we work to improve safety and connectivity along Sunrise Valley Drive.”
While the easternmost segment of the project from Soapstone is expected to be ready for use later this week, construction to extend the sidewalk from the Exxon gas station’s western driveway to Colts Neck Road isn’t scheduled to start until sometime in August.
About 15 feet of the existing sidewalk in front of the gas station has already been removed, FCDOT says. That area appears to have now been repaved with asphalt and concrete curb ramps, as of Monday (July 6).
All construction on the new Sunrise Valley Drive walkway is scheduled to be completed on Nov. 30, FCDOT says. The project required approximately $3.48 million in funding, according to the county’s 2025-2030 Transportation Priorities Plan.
