Richmond Highway

Range of factors driving Richmond Highway pedestrian safety ‘crisis,’ analysis finds

Published May 28, 2026 at 3:05PM

Richmond Highway in Mount Vernon (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

More than 60 pedestrians and cyclists have been killed or seriously injured in crashes on Richmond Highway over the past decade — and conditions appear to be worsening instead of improving, a new analysis says.

Skimpy lighting and crossings, along with alcohol intoxication, appear to be driving factors behind the frequent serious crashes that occur in the approximately 14-mile corridor from the Alexandria border down to the Occoquan River south of Lorton, according to Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS).

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FCPD: Man charged with stealing, crashing delivery van on Richmond Highway

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 15, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated May 15, 2026 at 1:12PM

A Fairfax County police cruiser (file photo)

A man from the Groveton area will face a slew of criminal charges once he leaves the hospital after allegedly stealing a delivery van and crashing it multiple times on Richmond Highway, injuring himself and another driver.

Officers responded around 3:31 p.m. on Wednesday (May 13) to Richmond Highway and Lorton Road in Lorton after receiving reports of “a multi-vehicle crash involving a stolen package delivery van that had been taken earlier in the day” in Fort Belvoir, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

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Motorcyclist hospitalized after crash with dump truck on Route 1

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 5, 2026 at 4:30PM

Police and fire response to crash on Richmond Highway at Armistead Road in Lorton (via FCPD/X)

A motorcyclist suffered serious injuries in a collision with a dump truck this afternoon (Tuesday) on Richmond Highway in Lorton.

Police and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched around 1:43 p.m. to Richmond Highway at Lorton Road near Gunston Plaza for a crash described initially as involving “an 18-wheeler,” according to scanner traffic.

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County board OKs new Penn Daw fire station with shelter, supportive housing

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 16, 2026 at 2:45PM

Planned Penn Daw Fire Station with supportive housing and emergency shelter (via BKV Group/Fairfax County)

Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (April 14) unanimously approved the plan to build a new Penn Daw Fire Station, supportive housing and an emergency shelter facility on a 3.5-acre tract just east of Richmond Highway.

The approval marks a significant step forward in a capital project that has been in the works for more than a decade.

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Design options unveiled for art on future Richmond Highway BRT stations

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 9, 2026 at 3:45PM

The planned route and stations for Fairfax County's Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit system (via FCDOT)

Fairfax County is starting to narrow down its options for the artwork that will grace its future Richmond Highway bus rapid transit (BRT) stations.

Earlier this week, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) launched a survey that asks community members to rank three different windscreen designs proposed for each of the bus service’s nine planned stations.

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Route 1 BRT, Elden Street upgrades among transportation projects vying for regional funds

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 9, 2026 at 9:15AM

Residents attend an in-person update on the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project at the Gerry South Hyland Government Center on Jan. 15, 2025 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County is pinning all its hopes for a new round of regional transportation funding on a single major project, but local travelers could also benefit from some of the other contenders.

As authorized last fall by the Board of Supervisors, the county is seeking $463 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for its planned “The One” bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which would serve nine stations along a 7.4-mile stretch of Richmond Highway, also known as Route 1, from Huntington to Fort Belvoir.

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Multifamily housing proposed to replace neighboring Richmond Highway hotels

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 7, 2026 at 1:45PM

Apartment building proposed to replace Days Inn on Richmond Highway in Huntington (via Hord Coplan Macht/Fairfax County)

A pair of adjacent hotels along Richmond Highway in Huntington are being eyed for redevelopment.

Separate developers have proposed replacing Moon Inn Hotel (6140 Richmond Highway) and Days Inn by Wyndham (6100 Richmond Highway) with multifamily residential buildings that could deliver more than 500 homes combined, according to rezoning applications submitted last month to Fairfax County.

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Second fatal pedestrian crash on Richmond Highway in 2026 under investigation

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 6, 2026 at 8:30AM

A fire truck arrives at the scene of a fatal pedestrian crash on Richmond Highway at Pohick Road in Fort Belvoir on April 3, 2026 (courtesy Dave Statter/X)

For the second time this year, a pedestrian has died in a crash on the Fairfax County section of Richmond Highway (Route 1).

Police responded at 10:30 p.m. on Friday (April 3) to Richmond Highway’s intersection with Pohick Road and Backlick Road in Fort Belvoir after receiving a report of a crash involving a pedestrian.

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New Penn Daw fire station with shelter, supportive housing wins support

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 31, 2026 at 11:45AM

Proposed design of new Penn Daw Fire Station and supportive housing at 2801 Beacon Hill Road (image via Fairfax County)

Fairfax County Planning Commission members gave their unanimous support on March 25 to a planned relocation of the Penn Daw Fire Station to a parcel that will also include supportive housing and an emergency shelter.

The plan, which will be considered by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on April 14, would put the new fire station and housing on a 3.5-acre site at 2801 Beacon Hill Road, one block east of Richmond Highway.

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Free Little Art Gallery coming to Richmond Highway this spring

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 23, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated March 25, 2026 at 5:52PM

A Free Little Art Gallery under construction will be installed at Mount Vernon Plaza (courtesy Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation)

A Free Little Art Gallery (FLAG) is coming to a shopping center on Richmond Highway this spring, kicking off what organizers hope will be a proliferation of the boxes along the corridor.

The FLAG will be installed by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) at 12:30 p.m. on April 8 in the Mount Vernon Plaza Parklette (7698 Richmond Highway) in Hybla Valley.