The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is asking for public input on how to reduce congestion and the number of crashes on two half-mile sections of road in Springfield.

A new survey is open through June 15, asking residents about their traveling habits and safety concerns along Franconia Road between Backlick Road and Loisdale Road. The survey also focuses on Commerce Street between Amherst Avenue and Franconia Road.

The survey marks the beginning of a STARS (Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions) study that will help develop “proposed improvements that localities can pursue for funding,” a press release says.

Those two sections of roads, particularly Franconia Road, are of concern because they often have traffic congestion due to the nearby I-95 interchange. There’s also a high number of crashes, according to VDOT.

That half-mile section of Franconia Road averages about 69,000 vehicles a day and has had 162 crashes between January 2015 and October 2022, per a VDOT presentation. That includes at least one fatal crash and several that resulted in severe injuries.

The portion of Commerce Street in the study has much less volume, with only about 19,000 vehicles every day. But there have been even more crashes along the road during that same time period.

A large number of the 171 crashes have resulted in property damage only, but several did lead to severe injury.

VDOT is looking into a number of improvements along those roads focused on safety, the presentation notes.

That includes “innovative intersections” that have different shapes or traffic flow patterns. It could also mean adding Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, high-visibility crosswalks and improved bicycle facilities, including better bicycle lane transitions and pavement markings.

What exactly will be done will, at least partially, depend on the results of the public survey, VDOT said.

In the questionnaire, respondents are asked to rank their top concerns, with traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, public transit access, and speeding among the options listed. They are also asked when they typically traveled along those roads, by what method of transportation, and when they typically experience congestion.

The survey “will be used to help develop potential safety and operational alternatives that will be evaluated and presented during the second round of public involvement scheduled for this winter,” the project website reads.

The study is set to be completed in spring 2024. No construction timeline has been set as of yet, per the press release.

The City of Fairfax is asking the public for help in planning long-anticipated improvements to Jermantown Road.

On Wednesday (May 31) from 7-9 p.m., Fairfax will hold an open house at Katherine Johnson Middle School (3801 Jermantown Road) so the public can weigh in on preliminary design concepts for the Jermantown Road Corridor Improvement Project.

The project is set to add sidewalks, medians, and pedestrian crossings along about a mile-long section of two-lane Jermantown Road that extends from Route 50 to the city limits at the I-66 interchange. Other changes include a traffic circle at Orchard Street as well as a right-turn lane south of Orchard Street.

Also proposed are enhanced roadway crossings at Katherine Johnson Middle School and Providence Elementary School (3616 Jermantown Road), and a reduction of the number of driveways and access points along the road.

“Jermantown Road provides key local access (residential, school, & commercial locations) and connections to Fairfax County,” the project page says. “Current conditions are challenging for some users, and accommodating future growth and changes will require improvements to help the city.”

Fairfax City received $21 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to make these road improvements. There’s no timeline for when construction might begin or be completed, with the project now in the design phase.

The city first brought on engineers to provide a concept plan for the project in 2018. Two options were put on the table: a widening of all of Jermantown Road from two to four lanes or more limited “spot improvement” option. The latter prevailed.

Earlier this month, city council members got a preview of the planned improvements during a work session with city staff, including transportation director Wendy Block Sanford.

According to staff, the average daily traffic along Jermantown Road is about 14,000 vehicles a day — a relatively high number for a road of this nature. There are also more than 30 access points to the road, like entrances or driveways. Typically, access points are where more crashes  occur.

The road also is home to a growing population, making pedestrian and bicycle access even more crucial. About 1,100 households either live on or within a quarter-mile of the road, per the staff presentation. In addition, about a quarter of the roughly 2,000 students who attend the two schools could walk to school if safety was improved.

As noted at the council work session, tomorrow’s open house is really the beginning of the engagement process.

“The 31st is really meant to be a kick-off and listening session,” Sanford told the city council. “We don’t have the answers yet. What we know are what some of the challenges are and we want to know more about those challenges and understand everything. There will be plenty more. This is truly the first engagement of many engagements.”

While not part of the project, but related since it connects, the Jermantown Road Bridge over I-66 is now scheduled to likely open in the fall. Previously expected to reopen this spring, the bridge is getting new sidewalks and bicycle paths.

Sanford said there are “some issues” going on between the Virginia Department of Transportation and the contractor, but the expectation is that it will open later this year.

Image via Google Maps

Rising construction costs have created a funding gap for the widening of East Spring Street.

The Town of Herndon is seeking roughly $3.1 million in federal funding for the project, which is administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The move will require a 20% match from the town. In a memo to the Herndon Town Council, staff said that the funding shortfall was caused by increasing construction costs.

“The full amount of the funding gap would otherwise be borne by the Town of Herndon,” staff said in the March 16 memo.

The project would be funded under the federal Community Project Funding program, which selects projects through a congressionally-directed application process.

The nearly $11.5 million project will widen Spring Street and Herndon Parkway at the intersection of those two roads.

It will also add a cycle track on Herndon Parkway to connect with the Sugarland Run Stream Valley Trail, high-visibility crosswalks, a sidewalk on the south side of Spring Street to connect with the county sidewalk under Fairfax County Parkway, and new traffic signals and accessible pedestrian signals.

The project is currently under construction and is expected to warp up in late 2024, according to VDOT. 

A major project to improve the accessibility of Van Buren Street in Herndon is officially complete.

Known as a “complete streets project” in transportation jargon, the project widened Van Buren Street along a one-half mile stretch from Old Spring Street to Herndon Parkway.

Complete streets is an approach to designing streets that supports safety and access for all users, including pedestrians and bicyclists.

In addition to widening travel lanes to 11 feet, the project added curb-and-gutter and bicycle lanes in each direction. Other upgrades include the addition of 5-foot-wide sidewalks, crosswalks, and traffic signals at Alabama Drive. Overhead utility poles were also relocated and stormwater management facilities upgraded.

Construction on the project started in the spring of 2022.

At a Herndon Town Council meeting late last month, Town Manager Bill Ashton II said the project was substantially complete.

“We have had the contractors out there making some corrections to some elements that we found were deficient to the design,” Ashton said.

He also noted that the project has been in the works for years.

“This is a project that has probably been ten years plus in the making,” he said.

For the next few months, drivers will have just one road to reach Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) from Wolf Trap.

The access point at Trap Road is scheduled to close at 7 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) and will remain blocked to traffic until 9 a.m. Saturday (April 22), the Virginia Department of Transportation announced last week.

Drivers will be required to use Towlston Road in order to travel between Route 7 and Trap Road.

“By Saturday, April 22 at 9 a.m., the eastbound lanes of Route 7 will shift to the south, and Trap Road will reopen at Route 7 to incoming traffic,” VDOT said. “Drivers on eastbound Route 7 will be able to turn right onto Trap Road.”

However, Trap Road will remain closed to outgoing traffic, which will still need to use Towlston through this summer. A full reopening is currently anticipated in August, according to VDOT.

The closure is part of the ongoing project to widen Route 7 from four to six lanes along a nearly 7-mile stretch from Reston Avenue to Jarrett Valley Drive. Under construction since 2019, the project is also adding 10-foot-wide shared-use paths on both sides of the roadway and redesigning key intersections.

New traffic patterns necessitated by a reconstruction of the Baron Cameron Avenue intersection will be in place until 5 a.m. Thursday (April 20). The new Lewinsville Road intersection is on track to open in May.

The overall Route 7 widening is expected to be completed by July 31, 2024, according to the project website. It costs an estimated $313.9 million.

The reconstruction of the Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) intersection at Baron Cameron Avenue begins this week in Reston.

Part of a massive project to expand Route 7, the construction will usher in new traffic patterns on the nights of April 10-14 and April 16-20 between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The triple left-turn lanes from westbound Route 7 to Baron Cameron Avenue will be reduced to a single-left turn lane from 8-10 p.m. only. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is in the process of widening a nearly 7-mile stretch of Route 7 between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive.

“Please use caution and be alert to vehicles and equipment entering and exiting the work area. All work is weather-dependent and subject to change,” VDOT cautioned in a recent traffic alert.

Between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., drivers on Springvale Road to Baron Cameron Avenue will turn right onto westbound Route 7 and follow a detour route to Reston Parkway and Wiehle Avenue in order to get to Baron Cameron Avenue.

Drivers on Baron Cameron Avenue, Hunter Gate Way and Hunter Mill Road who are trying to reach westbound Route 7 will follow Baron Cameron Avenue westbound to a detour route along Wiehle Avenue and Reston Parkway.

Additionally, all Route 7 eastbound traffic will be reduced to a single-through lane.

Between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., the triple left-turn lanes from westbound Route 7 to Baron Cameron Avenue will be completely closed. Drivers on eastbound Route 7 to Baron Cameron Avenue will use a service road at a nearby car wash to access Baron Cameron Avenue.

The right-turn lane from Baron Cameron Avenue to eastbound Route 7 will remain open at all times.

According to VDOT documentation from a recent meeting, the project is expected to cost roughly $314 million and should wrap up by the end of July next year. Construction began in May 2019.

Key milestones so far include the addition of a left-turn lane from westbound Route 7 to Baron Cameron Avenue, temporary intersection improvements at Towlston Road, and a third through-lane from Riva Ridge Drive to Reston Avenue.

The new Lewinsville Road intersection with a displaced left-run lane from eastbound Route 7 to Lewinsville is expected to open in late May, according to VDOT.

(Updated at 2:10 p.m.) Construction on the widening of the Capital Beltway (I-495) can continue while a lawsuit filed by McLean residents works its way through the court system, a federal judge ruled this morning (Friday).

The Northern Virginia Citizens Association had urged U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to issue a preliminary injunction against the project that would halt all work until further environmental analysis is conducted.

The ruling, which came after a 10 a.m. hearing at the district court in Alexandria, gave an initial victory to federal and state transportation officials and express lanes operator Transurban, who have argued that the additional review sought by residents is unnecessary.

“We remain confident that this project is in compliance of all environmental regulations and associated requirements and approvals, Transurban Director of Corporate Affairs and Marketing Tanya Sheres said in a statement to FFXnow. “Alongside our project partners, we continue to focus on minimizing impacts to communities as we work to deliver the expanded travel choices, environmental enhancements, and improved safety that the more than 230,000 daily travelers of this corridor are relying upon.”

Filed on March 16, the NOVA Citizens Association’s complaint detailed health and environmental impacts of construction on the I-495 Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project, which is adding 2.5 miles of express lanes from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean.

The Federal Highway Administration approved an environmental assessment for the project in 2021, finding that it would not have a significant impact and allowing it to proceed.

However, the NOVA Citizens Association says that subsequent design changes to stormwater facilities and ramps at the GW Parkway interchange should’ve necessitated another review with an opportunity for public input.

“Defendants’ activities will irreparably damage Plaintiff’s neighborhood and the surrounding human and natural environment in violation of federal law,” lawyers for the association wrote in a memo on their injunction request. “The Project’s adverse effects already vastly exceed the scope of what the Virginia Department of Transportation (“VDOT”) submitted and the Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”) approved.”

In declarations opposing an injunction, VDOT and FHWA officials argue that the changes to the GW Parkway design reduced its impact on nearby residential properties and were accounted for in a Interchange Justification Report Addendum approved by FHWA on Jan. 14, 2022.

“The revised configuration of the GWMP interchange lessened the overall impacts of the Project by eliminating conflicts with large utility transmission towers and reducing the need for right-of-way acquisition,” VDOT Northern Virginia Megaprojects Director Susan Shaw said.

According to Shaw, a relocation of ponds by the GW Parkway interchange improved stormwater management, including avoiding work adjacent to the Potomac River, and the changes stayed within the scope established by the completed environmental assessment.

A one-year delay of construction on 495 NEXT, which broke ground in March 2022, would cost VDOT an additional $16.4 million in management and oversight costs, Shaw estimated. If the delay goes into a second year, another $17.2 million would be added to that bill.

“If the Project is enjoined, the current work would need to be suspended in its current condition, with accommodations as needed to ensure the safety of the traveling public,” Shaw wrote. “This would require the lane closures, concrete barriers, temporary environmental controls, to remain in place with all the traffic congestion and disruption those active work zone features create. The duration of construction impacts would be extended, such as noise, dust, traffic delays, and lack of full shoulders.”

Construction on 495 NEXT is currently projected to continue into 2026, with the new express lanes set to open later in 2025.

Updated at 12:55 p.m. on 4/14/2023 — The National Park Service has delayed the GW Parkway changes due to forecasts calling for inclement weather over the weekend. The lane shift is now expected to begin around April 21-24.

Earlier: Drivers will soon have to get accustomed to a brand-new traffic pattern on the McLean section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Starting Saturday, April 15, the existing southbound lanes will close between the Capital Beltway (I-495) and Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd and Chain Bridge Road) so crews can begin rehabilitating that portion of the roadway.

All traffic will shift to the northbound lanes, which have been expanded with the addition of a third, temporary lane in the median. The new lane will change directions based on where rush-hour traffic is headed.

“This temporary lane will serve as a reversible lane, which provides flexibility to change direction for morning and evening rush hours,” the National Park Service said in a news release yesterday (Monday). “This traffic pattern allows the project contractor greater access to the roadway, which will reduce the time needed to complete the project.”

If there’s inclement weather on April 15, the new traffic pattern will commence on Saturday, April 22 instead.

On April 15, the NPS will implement a new, temporary traffic pattern on George Washington Memorial Parkway between I-495 and Route 123 for the next phase of the North Parkway Rehabilitation Project: https://t.co/3yjIWOU0hL pic.twitter.com/PFFBTyoNQ0

— National Parks of Greater Washington, DC (@NPSNewsDC) April 3, 2023

According to the NPS, here is the daily schedule for the reversible lane:

Weekday morning rush hour (5:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.)

• Two lanes southbound (toward Washington, DC).
• Drivers who need to exit at Route 123 or CIA Headquarters must use the right lane.
• One lane northbound (toward Maryland/Virginia).

Weekday evening rush hour (2:45 p.m.-7:15 p.m.)

• Two lanes northbound (toward Maryland/Virginia).
• Drivers who need to exit at Route 123 or CIA Headquarters must use the right lane.
• One lane southbound (toward Washington, DC).

Weekdays (9:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m.) and weekends

• One lane southbound (toward Washington, DC).
• One lane northbound (toward Maryland/Virginia).

The park service advises drivers to pay attention to traffic signs, adhere to the roadway’s 40 mph speed limit, and prepare for potential delays.

“To increase safety, small physical barriers will divide the narrow, 10-foot-wide lanes,” the NPS said, noting that vehicles that weigh over 10,000 pounds will still be barred from the parkway.

Federal officials broke ground on the north GW Parkway rehabilitation in July 2022. The approximately $161 million project will update the parkway’s northern section — from the Beltway to Sprout Run in Arlington — for the first time since it was originally completed in 1962.

Funded by the Great American Outdoors Act, which was passed in 2020 to support infrastructure and recreational improvements on public lands, the project will install new pavement, redesign the Route 123 interchange, repair stormwater facilities, lengthen some entrance and exit lanes, and more.

The NPS anticipates the three-lane pattern remaining in place throughout the rest of construction, which is projected to finish in December 2025.

The final touches on the first phase of the Silver Line project that brought Metro into Tysons are falling into place, almost a decade after the five new rail stations in Fairfax County opened.

Construction on the shoulder of the Dulles Connector Road — which links the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons to the I-66 interchange in Idylwood — has been completed, according to a presentation that the Fairfax County Department of Transportation gave to the Board of Supervisors’ Phase 1 Dulles Rail Transportation Improvement District Commission on Tuesday (March 28).

The shoulder reconstruction, which began in April 2022, and some manhole repairs were the last “outstanding” items in the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project’s first phase, FCDOT Special Projects Division Chief Martha Coello told the commission.

Some lane closures were in place this week for the shoulder construction. A spokesperson for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority didn’t respond by press time on whether that was the last round of closures.

With a total cost of $2.98 billion, the first phase expanded Metro to Tysons and Reston, launching passenger service in July 2014.

To continue paying off debt from the project, the commission approved a flat tax rate of nine cents per $100 of assessed value for commercial and industrial properties in the special tax district created to fund the Silver Line.

Fairfax County Department of Management and Budget Deputy Director Joe LaHait recommended continuing the current tax rate into fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1, “since coverage in the prior fiscal year (FY2022) cannot be maintained at or above the 1.4x threshold,” an advisory board reported to the commission.

The tax district’s policy, adopted in 2013, dictates that the tax rate should be set at a level that would cover 1.4 times the amount of debt owed each year. The rate can be lowered by up to two cents if that level of coverage has been maintained for two consecutive years.

Though coverage is projected to exceed 1.4 in 2023 and 2024, it dipped below that target to 1.36 for the first time ever last year, according to county staff.

Since it took effect in 2005, the Phase 1 tax district has generated approximately $428.5 million, including $15.5 million in the current fiscal year 2023, as of February — enough to cover the $400 million that Fairfax County was tasked with giving to the MWAA for the project.

“All debt has been issued for this tax district and reached the $400 million cap paid to the Airports Authority,” the advisory board’s minutes from its March 15 meeting said. “The funds were collected via cash contribution and bonds.”

With the county’s obligation covered, the tax district revenue will now be used to pay off debts. As of June 30, it had about $125 million in outstanding debt.

At its Tuesday meeting, the commission also approved a tax rate of 18 cents per $100 of assessed value for the special tax district for the Silver Line’s second phase, which extended Metro from Reston to Ashburn in Loudoun County.

The approved rate represents a two-cent reduction from the current fiscal year 2023 rate, which staff said in March 2022 couldn’t be lowered.

Per a staff presentation, the Dulles Airport and Ashburn stations remain the busiest of the new stations since they opened in November. New Fairfax Connector bus routes supporting the stations in Reston and Herndon are carrying 579 passenger trips per day.

The tax rates for both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 districts will be formally adopted when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approves a budget for FY 2024 on May 9.

(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) A group of McLean residents opposed to the extension of the I-495 toll lanes past their neighborhoods have turned to the courts in a bid to halt the project, now in its second year of construction.

The Northern Virginia (NOVA) Citizens Association filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Thursday (March 16) alleging that major revisions to the project design violated federal law, resulting in “significant on-going environmental harms” to residents.

The Virginia Department of Transportation, Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), private toll lanes operator Transurban, and Transurban subsidiary Capital Beltway Express LLC are named as defendants.

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, NOVA and its members are experiencing significant adverse environmental impacts caused by the Project,” the complaint says, arguing that the road construction and loss of trees will contribute to noise, light, air pollution, water quality, erosion and health issues.

In the works since 2018, the I-495 Northern Extension project (495 NEXT) is adding 2.5 miles of express lanes from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean, reconfiguring many of the bridges and interchanges within that span.

The GW Parkway interchange has been a particular point of concern for the NOVA Citizens Association, whose members fear that their neighborhood along Live Oak Drive will be destroyed to accommodate planned ramps and stormwater management ponds.

According to the complaint, VDOT unveiled significant changes to the project design in September 2021 and June 2022 — months after the FHWA approved its environmental assessment, an evaluation of the project’s potential impact required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The changes — including a consolidation of stormwater facilities, a narrowing of Live Oak Drive to 22 feet wide, and the relocation of an I-495 Express Lanes exit ramp to the GW Parkway — were substantial enough that additional environmental review should’ve been conducted, the association contends.

“The major changes to the stormwater control plan, the expansion of impermeable surfaces, and the greatly expanded deforestation will result in a significant increase in the release of stormwater which is contaminated with pollutants onto the properties of members of the association,” the complaint says.

The complaint also raises concerns about the safety of narrowing Live Oak Drive, especially for kids traveling to Cooper Middle School and the nearby Langley Swim & Tennis Club, and a reported plan to place a 5G cell tower on one resident’s property.

In a Feb. 24 declaration supporting the complaint, Live Oak Drive residents Pritesh and Marisha Patel wrote that the noise and pollution from the 495 NEXT construction has caused “irreparable harm” to their family, particularly their 11-year-old son, who has asthma. Read More