Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

New Beltway ramp to I-66 opens in Dunn Loring ahead of toll lanes

Published November 14, 2022 at 10:30AM | Updated November 14, 2022 at 3:27PM

I-495 North is getting a new ramp to the I-66 West general purpose lanes, while the existing ramp will lead to the new I-66 Express Lanes (via VDOT)

Updated at 3:25 p.m. — The switch to the new I-495 North ramp to I-66 is now scheduled to be implemented tomorrow night and will be in place early Wednesday morning (Nov. 16), VDOT says.

Earlier: The Capital Beltway is getting a new ramp in Dunn Loring, as the Virginia Department of Transportation prepares to open another segment of the extended I-66 Express Lanes.

Countywide

JUST IN: I-66 Express Lanes expected to fully open this month

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 10, 2022 at 5:00PM

The I-66 Express Lanes at the Vienna Metro station, as of September (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The extended I-66 Express Lanes outside the Capital Beltway will open ahead of schedule, the Virginia Department of Transportation says.

Previously scheduled to arrive in December, the lanes will open in the westbound direction from I-495 in Dunn Loring to Route 28 in Centreville as soon as Saturday, Nov. 19, VDOT said in a news release snuck in just before a three-day weekend.

Around Town

Veterans Day 2022: What’s open, closed and happening in Fairfax County

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 10, 2022 at 3:00PM

Flags outside the Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Veterans Day is tomorrow, marking the 104th anniversary of the official end of combat in World War I.

Government offices for Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and the towns of Vienna and Herndon will be closed for the federal holiday, which extends to Fairfax County Public Schools students and the court system.

Around Town

Bonchon’s Tysons restaurant opening delayed until the spring

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 10, 2022 at 2:15PM

Bonchon anticipates opening its new Tysons restuarant in March 2023 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Tysons residents will have to wait a little longer to bite into Bonchon’s crunchy, double-fried chicken — at least without venturing to Fairfax, Annandale, Reston and beyond.

The Korean fried chicken chain won’t open its upcoming location at 8603 Westwood Center Drive until March, a public relations representative told FFXnow.

Around Town

Settle Down Easy Brewing toasts Oakton with new ‘tasting room,’ opening Saturday

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 10, 2022 at 11:45AM | Updated November 13, 2022 at 2:11PM

Settle Down Easy Brewing will have a grand opening for its Oakton Tasting Room on Nov. 12 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 2:10 p.m. on 11/13/2022 to correct zip code) It’s going to be a busy Saturday for Settle Down Easy Brewing. In addition to marking its fourth anniversary, the Merrifield area brewery will throw a grand opening party for its new Oakton restaurant and bar from noon to 8 p.m.

Replacing the shuttered Austins Big and Tall store in Hunter Mill Plaza at 2952E Chain Bridge Road, The Oakton Tasting Room is envisioned as not just a place to grab dinner and drinks, but as the kind of hangout spot that Settle Down Easy owner Frank Kuhns says is missing from Oakton — despite nearly 37,o00 people calling it home.

News

Police: Oakton resident fatally shoots man who entered home with ‘large landscaping rock’

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 10, 2022 at 10:15AM | Updated November 13, 2022 at 6:07PM

Fairfax County police car (file photo)

(Updated at 6:05 p.m. on 11/13/2022) A man was shot and killed in Oakton last night following an apparent fight with a homeowner that led the latter to retrieve a gun, police say.

The Fairfax County Police Department is currently investigating the fatal shooting in the 11400 block of Waples Mill Road as a self-defense case, Second Lt. James Curry told media yesterday. Preliminarily, there’s no indication that the two men involved in the incident knew each other, he said.

News

County paves way for construction on MetroWest town center — now with pedestrian improvements

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 9, 2022 at 11:45AM | Updated November 28, 2023 at 4:14PM

Until a third residential building is constructed, the MetroWest town center will include an interim plaza (via Fairfax County)

A path has been cleared for construction to begin soon on the long-awaited MetroWest town center, promising retail and pedestrian safety enhancements near the Vienna Metro station in Oakton.

As recommended by the planning commission in late October, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted last week to remove a limit on the number of residences allowed at the mixed-use development before work also starts on planned office buildings.

News

Custom home builder pleads guilty to defrauding McLean residents

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 9, 2022 at 11:00AM | Updated November 9, 2022 at 5:08PM

A construction worker on a house building frame (via Josh Olalde on Unsplash)

(Updated at 5:10 p.m.) A 57-year-old contractor from Centreville could face up to two decades in jail for using his custom home building company to defraud McLean homeowners.

Pedro Felipe Valdes Sanchez pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding “several couples” who hired his company to build or remodel their houses in and around McLean, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

News

Man, 93, dies after SUV crashes into his car on Old Keene Mill Road

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 9, 2022 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County police car with lights flashing (file photo)

Another driver has died after a vehicular crash on Fairfax County’s roads, bringing the non-pedestrian death toll up to 16 people.

The most recent casualty is John Rowley Jr., a 93-year-old Springfield resident who died Monday evening (Nov. 7) after an SUV crashed into his car on Old Keene Mill Road in the West Springfield area that morning.

News

Proposed design of new Dunn Loring Elementary School to be unveiled

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 8, 2022 at 3:00PM

The Dunn Loring Administrative Center is slated for replacement with an elementary school (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Local residents will get their first glimpse of the planned Dunn Loring Elementary School later this week.

Fairfax County Public Schools will kick off the public input portion of the project’s design process on Thursday (Nov. 10) with a meeting at the Gatehouse Administrative Center (8115 Gatehouse Road) in Merrifield.