McLean | FFXnow

Virginia officials promise traffic relief with new I-495 toll lanes opening this weekend

Published November 21, 2025 at 3:30PM

Officials cut a ribbon to celebrate the impending opening of new I-495 Express Lanes (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After more than three years of construction, the new Capital Beltway toll lanes in McLean will welcome their first drivers on Sunday (Nov. 23), just in time for next week’s Thanksgiving travel rush.

Though the start of tolling operations has been delayed by a day due to expected rain tonight (Friday), Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other officials gathered this morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in anticipation of the occasion at the Hyatt Regency hotel at Tysons Corner Center.

News

Single-family houses to transform rare undeveloped land in McLean

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 18, 2025 at 10:00AM

A rendering of the new Knolewood housing subdivision in McLean (courtesy Corcoran McEnearney)

A new housing subdivision is taking shape in McLean.

Knolewood will bring 24 single-family houses to a 25-acre expanse near the corner of Lewinsville Road and Lancia Drive that represent the last remaining undeveloped parcels in McLean, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty announced last Thursday (Nov. 13).

News

Solution to ‘Kryptos’ sculpture at CIA’s McLean HQ up for auction

By Associated Press

Published November 12, 2025 at 3:45PM

RR Auction Executive Vice President of Public Relations Bobby Livingston discusses the sale of a deception key for the "Kryptos" sculpture at the CIA's headquarters (screenshot via AP Video by Rodrique Ngowi)

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — When Jim Sanborn was commissioned to create a sculpture at CIA headquarters, he wanted to do something that spoke to its world of spies and secret codes.

News

McLean resident who helped engineer invasion of Iraq dies at 84

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published November 4, 2025 at 11:45AM

FILE - Vice President Dick Cheney delivers his speech to troops at Fairchild Air Force base on Monday, April 17, 2006 in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Dustin Snipes, file)

Longtime McLean resident and former vice president Dick Cheney has died, leaving behind a legacy largely defined by his advocacy for the U.S.’s invasion of Iraq and expansion of the surveillance state that followed 9/11.

Cheney died Monday due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said Tuesday in a statement.

News

UPDATED: New I-495 toll lanes on track to open before Thanksgiving

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2025 at 1:45PM | Updated November 10, 2025 at 5:12PM

Construction continues on the new toll lanes on I-495 approaching the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Update — The new I-495 Express Lanes are on track to open ahead of schedule on Saturday, Nov. 22, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced on Nov. 10.

In addition to two toll lanes in each direction, the opening will include dedicated ramps from the Dulles Toll Road to the northbound express lanes and between the express lanes and the GW Parkway.

Around Town

McLean shopping center to unveil Sweetgreen, finished renovations next month

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 28, 2025 at 2:45PM

Sweetgreen salads and bowls (courtesy Sweetgreen)

November will be a busy month for McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center, bringing a new restaurant and the completion of a multi-million-dollar renovation project.

Sweetgreen announced today (Tuesday) that it will officially open its doors to customers on Nov. 11 at 6220 Old Dominion Drive in Chesterbrook Shopping Center.

Around Town

Upcoming bistro Town seeks to energize McLean dining scene

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 27, 2025 at 2:45PM

Town, a new American restaurant, is coming to 6671 Old Dominion Drive in McLean (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new restaurant is taking shape in McLean, one that its owners hope will give local residents a reason to dine in town instead of driving down Route 123 into Tysons.

Described on its Instagram page as an “American neighborhood bistro,” Town will join forces with the recently relocated Moby Dick House of Kabob to revitalize a retail center on Old Dominion Drive left dormant by Café Oggi’s closure in early 2022.

News

Lane closures to disrupt traffic on I-495 South in McLean overnight

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 16, 2025 at 3:00PM

Construction area along I-495 at the GW Parkway interchange (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Virginia Department of Transportation is urging drivers to avoid traveling on southbound I-495 in McLean tonight (Thursday) while its crews finish realigning the highway.

Three southbound lanes will close to traffic, starting at 8:30 p.m. with a single left lane and continuing with two other lanes by 9:30 p.m. The closures will extend from Georgetown Pike to the area just south of the American Legion Bridge.

News

McLean graduate wins title in her first-ever Army Ten-Miler race

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2025 at 2:45PM

McLean High School alum Michelle Vaccaro won the 2025 Army Ten-Miler's Overall Female finisher title (courtesy Army Ten-Miler)

The U.S. Army’s decision to move forward with its annual Ten-Miler last weekend, despite an ongoing federal government shutdown, paid off for one McLean High School graduate.

Michelle Vaccaro was the first woman to complete the 10-mile race on Sunday (Oct. 12), beating thousands of other runners visiting from around the world with a finishing time of 56 minutes and 44 seconds.

News

New plan emerges for developing Salona Park in McLean

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2025 at 2:30PM | Updated October 13, 2025 at 5:00PM

The proposed meadow trail concept for Salona Park in McLean (via Fairfax County Park Authority)

The Fairfax County Park Authority is looking for the community’s feedback again on a proposal for developing Salona Park in McLean.

The new concept, which will be presented at a community meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Monday), centers on a half-mile-long walking trail that would loop around the approximately 10-acre site, which currently consists of undeveloped meadows and woods.