Herndon Parkway between Cavendish Street and Worcester Street has reopened after an overnight crash closed the road in both directions.
The crash happened around 7:25 p.m. yesterday (Monday), according to the Herndon Police Department. The roadway was reopened at 11:15 p.m.
Two adult patients and one juvenile patient were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Charges are pending against the driver of the striking vehicle, according to Lisa Herndon, a spokesperson for HPD.
Last night, the department’s accident reconstruction unit investigated the incident.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Both sides of Herndon Pkwy are shut down Cavendish and Worcester due to accident response. Expect a lengthy delay and avoid the area. Updates as available. #HerndonPD pic.twitter.com/Ut7z2uYZNE
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) October 31, 2023
Major improvements on Van Buren Street are officially complete.
The Town of Herndon is set to celebrate the completion of the project at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday (Sept. 7) at Halley Smith Park.
The project kicked off in the spring of 2022. It cost $12.4 million, including $4.7 million for improvements to the Herndon Parkway intersection. Roughly $8 million was funded through federal, regional and local grants.
“The projects provide significant enhancement to these primary roads in the town, particularly necessary due to their proximity to the Herndon stop on Metrorail’s Silver Line,” according to the Town of Herndon.
The most significant improvements — two left turn lanes on west bound Herndon Parkway and a right-turn lane to eastbound Herndon Parkway — took place at Herndon Parkway’s intersection with Van Buren Street. A right-turn lane was also built on northbound Van Buren Street.
Upgrades include widening lanes to 15 feet to accommodate bike lanes, the addition of five-foot sidewalks with streetlights, improved pedestrian crosswalks with ADA signals, upgraded storm water management facilities and relocated overhead utility lines.
At Alabama Drive, crosswalks and traffic signals were also added, along with a turn lane for northbound Van Buren Street at Herndon Parkway.
The new year will ring in the beginning of a new construction project in Herndon.
Nearly $23 million in improvements to East Spring Street are slated to begin Tuesday (Jan. 3), according to the Town of Herndon.
The project will widen a quarter-mile of Spring Street from just west of Herndon Parkway to Fairfax County Parkway, creating space for additional through and turn lanes. More turn lanes are also under construction at the Spring Street intersection.
“The project, administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), will enhance the safety and efficiency of East Spring Street between the Fairfax County and Herndon parkways,” the town said.
The project will also connect the new Herndon Metro station the Washington & Old Dominion Trail through a sidewalk and eight-foot-wide cycle track along northbound Herndon Parkway.
Periodic lane closures are expected at the 100 block of Spring Street and the 400 block of Herndon Parkway.
A new sidewalk along eastbound Spring Street from Sunset Park Drive to Fairfax County Parkway and enhancements to existing pathways on both sides of spring street are also planned.
The project is expected to wrap up in the fall of 2024.
A project to widen the Herndon Parkway has taken away trees — to the dismay of some community members.
Crews with heavy machinery are still surrounding Haley M. Smith Park, located at the intersection with Van Buren Street, replacing a corridor of trees once along the parkway.
“I want to cry when I drive through that intersection,” one Herndon resident wrote last week on Nextdoor. “There had to be a better way.”
Work on the year-long project began last month. It will widen travel lanes to 11 feet, install on- and off-road bicycle lanes in each direction, and make other modifications intended to improve the overall pedestrian experience in the area.
There are no plans to replant the trees at this time, Herndon spokesperson Anne Curtis said in an email.
The Nextdoor commenter wasn’t the only one dissatisfied. Several people, including children, have noticed the change.
“It’s incredibly sad to see decades old trees taken down within hours,” another person wrote.
Others countered that the project will bring upgrades.
The $5.3 million project also calls for stormwater management improvements, utility relocations, and the addition of a turning lane, part of a broader effort to transform the area for the future opening of the Herndon Metro station.
