After more than a year of construction and a decade of planning, residents who live north of the Innovation Center Metro station near Herndon can finally walk or bike directly to the transit stop.
Fairfax County officials cut a ribbon last Friday (Feb. 27) to celebrate the completion of the Innovation Station North Neighborhood Access project, which added a shared-use path and two pedestrian bridges to connect the neighborhoods along Farougi Court and Apgar Place to the Metro station’s kiss-and-ride lot.
“This project is a game-changer for this community,” Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) Project Manager Sonia Shahnaj said in a video recapping the ceremony. “It is seamless, safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle access from the multiple residential neighborhoods to the kiss-and-ride at the Metro station.”
Despite being located less then a mile away, residents in the Hutchison area had to either loop around on Herndon Parkway or head south across the Dulles Toll Road to reach the Metro station, Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman noted.
According to FCDOT, the newly installed 10-foot-wide, 1,459-foot-long shared-use path and two pedestrian bridges, including one that is now among the county’s longest, reduce a 2 to 3-mile trek for pedestrians and cyclists to just half a mile.
The project was one of 17 to emerge out of a 2014 study that recommended improvements to ensure pedestrian and bicyclists have access to the future Herndon and Innovation Center Metro stations, which ultimately opened as part of the Silver Line’s second phase in November 2022.
The north neighborhood access project was among the last to be completed, though proposals for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Dulles Toll Road at Monroe Street and an improved crossing from Coppermine Road to Merrybrook Drive were put on hold.
FCDOT is still working on designs for off-road bicycle lanes along Sunrise Valley Drive that will connect Fairfax County Parkway to the Innovation Center Metro station.
There are multiple benefits to expanding transportation options beyond cars, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at last week’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. In addition to contributing to air pollution and climate change, a heavy reliance on automobiles drives up costs for residents, developers and the county government due to the expense of roads, parking and other infrastructure.
“The cost of living is high in this area, and one of those high costs is the cost of transportation,” McKay said. “So, any opportunity we can provide options for transportation, connect people together with mass transit, it’s not only good for the economy, but it’s good for the environment as well.”
With more housing planned north of the Innovation Center station, the neighborhood access project has only become more critical over the years.
Fairfax County broke ground on the new shared-use path and bridges in October 2024 after a lengthy planning process that included a community meeting in January 2022 and the acquisition of land rights from nearby property owners.
“These projects don’t happen without community support, without community engagement,” FCDOT Director Gregg Steverson said. “There are oftentimes things we don’t see or that we need to look at a different way, and the community is there to help us and talk us through those things. So, I really thank you all for working with us on this amazing project.”
