The prospect of a winter of discontent awaits those navigating the area where Haycock Road meets Route 7 in Falls Church, but conditions should be better by springtime, city officials anticipate.
“Relief is on the horizon, but we still have some pain before we get there,” Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields told the city council on Monday (Oct. 28).
“We do have to ask the public to bear with us,” he added, estimating that the major transportation project would be completed by late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025.
The nearly $16 million project’s goal is to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety at the Route 7 (West Broad Street) intersection with Haycock and the nearby entrances to Meridian High School, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School and the West Falls Church Metro station.
It also aims to stay ahead of growth that is arriving as the Little City Commons (also known as West Falls) mixed-use development at the intersection approaches buildout.
According to the city’s project website, elements include:
- Installation or replacement and synchronization of traffic signals at or near the Chestnut Street and W. Broad Street/Route 7 intersection; Haycock Road and W. Broad Street/Route 7 intersection; and Haycock Road and Schools’ Access Road intersection.
- A HAWK pedestrian-activated crosswalk on Haycock Road, to allow better connectivity and access to the school campus.
- Pedestrian-access improvements, such as widening sidewalks, at the above listed intersections as well as along W. Broad Street between the West Falls Church Metro and Haycock Road.
- Bus stop enhancements at or near those intersections.
- Bicycle-access improvements, including near the newly installed Capital Bikeshare stations near the high-school campus.
- Utility undergrounding and relocation.
Efforts are being funded through a grant from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi expressed sympathy at the meeting for community complaints about the improvements not moving quickly enough. Construction has been underway since late 2019.
“All the concerns expressed expressed by the public are reasonable,” she said. “The construction has gone on a long time.”
Hardi said that, with daylight hours dwindling, there should be more temporary lighting at Haycock Road and Mustang Drive, which leads to the high-school campus.
At the meeting, city staff said lighting is in place but needs to be activated, which is expected to happen by the end of this week.
Even after the multi-modal improvements project wraps up, relief from construction around Route 7 and Haycock Road may be brief. Fairfax County will be tasked with building a shared-use path on the Shreve Road side of the intersection, and the nearby West Falls Church Metro station and Virginia Tech campus are slated for major redevelopments.
