By Brian Trompeter
Fairfax County and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials on Nov. 3 dedicated a new shared-use path adjacent to northbound lanes on Route 29 between Vaden Drive and Nutley Street, just south of Vienna.
The new path, which filled in missing path segments, is important because it addresses public desires that cropped up during the pandemic, when more people were using the community’s walkways, said Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D-Providence).
Palchik said she “cringed every time” she saw people walking, pushing strollers or using wheelchairs along that section of Route 29 while trying to access Pan Am Shopping Center.
“While this is a very small, for some, piece of trail, a beautiful third of a mile, what makes it even more exciting is that it is growing our network of safe bike and pedestrian trails in this whole area,” Palchik said.
The $3.8 million project allotted $1.2 million for preliminary engineering, $1.2 million for right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation, and $1.4 million for construction.
Work on the project, which was built by Ardent Co. LLC of McLean, began in November 2022 and officials opened the path to pedestrians and bicyclists this October. In addition to the new pathway segments, the initiative included extension of a box culvert over Accotink Creek just west of Nutley Street.
The initiative was financed with Fairfax County moneys and concession fees from I-66 Express Mobility Partners under the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project’s comprehensive agreement.
William Cuttler, deputy district engineer from VDOT’s Northern Virginia district, stressed the project’s multi-modal aspects.
“We are not the Virginia Department of Highways,” he said. “We do work on highways, but we also do great work like this project here, providing multi-modal connections connecting people to places . . . VDOT is committed to a multi-modal transportation network, a safe network that provides opportunities for transport for everyone.”
The project resulted from a collaboration between the Virginia and Fairfax County departments of transportation and I-66 Mobility Express, officials said.
“We’re about mobility, we’re about accessibility, we’re about connectivity and all of those wonderful things to get people where they need to go and not have to drive a car,” said Gregg Steverson, director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT).
The path is a “step in the right direction” in helping people of all abilities travel safely and easily, said Ayoub Bidari, who works at the nearby James M. Scott Community Center and uses a motorized wheelchair.
Jermaine Johnson, regional president of PNC Bank, which has a branch at Route 29 and Nutley Street, said he hoped more such projects would be built in the community. Johnson soon will be serving on the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
Palchik also thanked recently retired FCDOT Director Tom Biesiadny for his work on the pathway project, which was years in the making. Because Biesiadny was traveling when county supervisors recently bestowed their annual Lord and Lady Fairfax awards, Palchik gave Biesiadny his plaque for being Providence District’s Lord Fairfax during the path’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
