(Updated at 4 p.m.) An 81-year-old man from Fairfax Station was driving in the wrong direction on Fairfax County Parkway when he fatally collided with a Tesla this morning (Thursday), police say.
Officers responded to the parkway at 12:06 a.m. after getting a call for a crash involving a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a 2022 Tesla sedan just north of the Ox Road (Route 123) interchange, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
“Preliminarily, detectives determined the driver of the Trailblazer, Sidney Brooks…was traveling northbound on Fairfax County Parkway in the southbound lanes when he struck the driver of a 2022 Tesla sedan head-on in the southbound lanes,” the FCPD said in a news release.
Brooks and the Tesla driver were both transported to a hospital, where Brooks died. The Tesla driver experienced injuries that were determined to be not life-threatening.
Neither of the vehicles had any occupants other than the drivers.
According to police, alcohol doesn’t appear to have been a factor in the crash, but detectives are still investigating whether speed may have contributed.
Brooks is the ninth person to be killed in a vehicle crash on Fairfax County roads this year, not including ones that involved pedestrians, the FCPD says. At this time in 2023, there had been three such fatalities.
This was the fourth fatal crash in the county this week. Three pedestrians died in separate crashes, two of them on I-495 near Telegraph Road, on Sunday (March 10).
Image via Google Maps
The Dulles Toll Road bridge that officially separates Tysons from McLean is in need of some major upkeep.
At a public meeting tomorrow (Thursday), the Virginia Department of Transportation will share its plans to rehabilitate the toll road’s eastbound lanes over Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd). The proposed project will replace the bridge’s concrete deck, parapets and steel beams.
Repairs to the piers and abutments are also planned.
“The project aims to improve safety, increase vertical clearance under the bridge and extend the overall life of the bridge,” VDOT said in a press release announcing the meeting, which will be held as a virtual webinar starting at 7 p.m.
Built in 1963, the Dulles Toll Road bridge was rehabilitated once before in 1995, according to VDOT. An average of 28,000 vehicles drive across it in a day.
VDOT currently estimates that the project will cost $12.6 million. The design phase, which is now underway, is funded by $1.3 million from the state. The source of the $11.3 million needed for construction is still being determined, but that phase isn’t expected to start until late 2025.
After the meeting, which will be recorded and posted on the project webpage, VDOT will accept public feedback on the rehabilitation online, by email (meetingcomments@vdot.virginia.gov) and by mail to structural and bridge engineer Dipali Patel at its Northern Virginia office (4975 Alliance Drive).
With the help of local developers and property owners, the Tysons Community Alliance is on a mission to beautify the green spaces found where many of the area’s major roads intersect.
The first site targeted is the southwest quadrant of the Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) interchange, where the Vienna-based company Tyson’s Tree Service began clearing overgrowth, invasive plants and dead trees on Jan. 2.
Led by the affordable housing firm SCG Development, which is headquartered nearby at 8245 Boone Blvd, the clean-up effort will set the stage for the approximately 2 acres of land to be replanted with native species and new landscaping — a process that Tysons officials hope to repeat at other locations.
“I would almost call this a pilot,” TCA spokesperson Karyn Le Blanc said. “…We would want to take a look at this, analyze it and then, see where we can replicate it in other areas or take the best parts of what’s worked on this and use this in other areas as well.”
The idea for the Tysons beautification project came from SCG Development President Steve Wilson. After 35 years of traveling the local roadways as a Northern Virginia resident, Wilson noticed the accompanying open spaces and landscaping had gotten unkempt, and in December 2022, he “just decided something needed to be done about it,” he told FFXnow.
Tysons has about 140 acres of green space that go unmaintained, mostly around its six major interchanges where routes 7 and 123, the Dulles Toll Road and the Capital Beltway (I-495) meet. That amounts to 5% of the 2,743-acre area designated as Fairfax County’s urban center, per SCG.
Arguing that cleaning up these areas would reduce safety concerns, encourage more pedestrian traffic and improve property values, the developer soon met with Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who represents most of Tysons, and offered to test its concept by sponsoring the Leesburg Pike and Chain Bridge Road interchange.
Once studied as a possible park, the site is “highly visible” and “perhaps the worst in terms of being overgrown,” Wilson says. He also highlighted its proximity to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, whose headquarters overlooks the interchange. Read More
(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) Traffic on northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway is being detoured after a man was hit by a vehicle near Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) in McLean this morning (Friday).
The U.S. Park Police (USPP) says its officers responded to the area of the GW Parkway and Route 123 interchange around 8:50 a.m. for a crash that involved “a vehicle and a person on foot.”
“The person on foot was transported to the hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries,” a Park Police spokesperson said. “The northbound GWMP is diverted to Spout Run Parkway.”
Police confirmed that the person who got hit had been working on the GW Parkway. The northern section of the GW Parkway has been under construction for months as part of a rehabilitation project.
According to scanner traffic on Open MHz, a dispatcher told responding Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units around 8:59 a.m. that the crash had been described as a “hit and run.” However, USPP says it wasn’t a hit and run.
As of 11:14 a.m., the GW Parkway’s northbound lanes remained closed around the ramp to Chain Bridge for the crash investigation, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s traffic camera site.
Traffic alert: Crash investigation George Washington Memorial Parkway in area of Rt. 123. Northbound traffic diverted to Spout Run Parkway.
— USPPNEWS (@usparkpolicepio) December 15, 2023
UPDATE: Crash with Injury. George Washington Parkway NB at VA-123. Fairfax County, VA. All northbound travel lanes remain blocked with ongoing investigation. Northbound traffic is diverted to Spout Run Parkway. Extended closure expected. Delays remain in both directions.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) December 15, 2023
Map via Google Maps. Hat tip to Alan Henney
A police pursuit of a man who reportedly attempted to abduct a woman crossed county lines before ending just outside the Town of Vienna this afternoon.
Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) is currently closed at the Flint Hill Road intersection in Oakton in the wake of the arrest, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The Town of Vienna said on Twitter at 4:30 p.m. that one southbound lane between Flint Hill and Nutley Street had opened.
“Our officers assisted @Loudounsheriff after a man abducted a woman and fled from deputies,” the FCPD said in a tweet. “The pursuit entered Fairfax County and man was arrested with the help of @VSPPIO.”
Suspect in custody. Our officers assisted @Loudounsheriff after a man abducted a woman and fled from deputies. The pursuit entered Fairfax County and man was arrested with the help of @VSPPIO. Chain Bridge Road is closed at Flint Hill Road. #FCPDhttps://t.co/R0jG09KRip pic.twitter.com/AwEfocO6Tp
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 30, 2023
Traffic Update: One southbound lane of Maple Avenue (Rt. 123) between Nutley Street and Flint Hill Road is now open. The other lane will remain closed for a Fairfax County Police Department investigation. Both northbound lanes of Maple Avenue (Rt. 123) are open. pic.twitter.com/TUMjXB46GB
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) October 30, 2023
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says it got a call around 1:52 p.m. from someone who reported “an abduction in progress” in Ashburn.
Per scanner traffic on Open MHz, the “suspicious activity” occurred at a Wells Fargo bank (43650 Yukon Drive) in the Ryan Park Center, a shopping center, and was suspected to be “possible trafficking.”
“As deputies arrived on the scene, the suspect, driving a black Hummer, drove away northbound on the Loudoun County Parkway,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “The deputies activated their emergency equipment and attempted to pull the vehicle over. The driver disregarded the deputies’ attempts and continued into Fairfax County.”
A sheriff’s deputy told a dispatcher at 2:13 p.m. that the driver ran three red lights and wasn’t pulling over for him. Police also said the driver “may have struck a vehicle.”
The FCPD got involved in the pursuit at approximately 2:20 p.m. when it entered Fairfax County via the Dulles Access Road (Route 267), according to the department and scanner traffic. Patrol officers, K9 units and the Fairfax 1 helicopter assisted.
The chase continued onto I-495 North, passing Tysons Blvd and entering Vienna. Upon reaching the Chain Bridge and Flint Hill intersection at 2:45 p.m., the driver stopped and “attempted to steal two other vehicles,” the FCPD says.
“Our officers arrived on scene to stop the potential carjacking and arrest the man,” Fairfax County police said. “An adult female was discovered inside the vehicle a short distance away. She is being treated for minor injuries related to the abduction that occurred in Loudoun County.”
The driver “struck several community members’ vehicles” during the pursuit, resulting in some reported injuries that were determined to be non-life-threatening, the FCPD said.
The man’s identity and any charges being filed haven’t been shared yet, but both agencies say more details will become available as the investigation continues. Virginia State Police also provided assistance.
“The LCSO is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our community,” the Loudoun sheriff’s office said. “We want to thank the officers and troopers with the Fairfax County Police Department and the Virginia State Police for their assistance in bringing this pursuit to a safe conclusion.”
The vacant Fuddruckers building along Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) in Fairfax City may not be standing for much longer.
The site at 3575 Chain Bridge Road, which has been empty since the burger joint closed in 2017, is being eyed for a potential mixed-use development that would also encompass the adjacent Exxon gas station and Tobacco Hut lots, covering about 2.3 acres total at the corner of Chain Bridge and Fairfax Blvd (Route 50).
While no formal application has been submitted yet, a development concept is scheduled to be presented to the Fairfax City Council at a work session tonight (Tuesday). It went to the city’s planning commission for feedback on Sept. 25.
According to a staff report, the potential concept from Chain Bridge LLC would transform the site with an 8-story, mixed-use building featuring about 271 apartments and 2,253 square feet of retail uses on the ground floor.
The project would also include a five-level, 316-space parking garage, approximately 1,662 square feet of open space on Chain Bridge Road and two new streets: a Northfax Street extending east from Chain Bridge and a not-yet-named north-south road off of Fairfax Blvd.
“This mixed-use development aims to transform the current car-centric commercial area into a vibrant urban block. The mid-rise structure will place retail, residential lobby, and amenity areas along Northfax Street’s extension,” Justin Johnson, vice president of real estate development for JM International, wrote in a Sept. 11 letter to the city.
The letter indicates that the residential units will be apartments, averaging 775 square feet in size. About 65% of the units will be studio or one-bedroom apartments, and the remaining units would have two bedrooms. The applicant says it would commit to making 6% of the units affordable in accordance with the city’s still relatively new Affordable Dwelling Unit program.
Johnson said the proposal “aligns with the vision of creating a bustling pedestrian-focused pathway along Northfax Street,” as laid out by the Northfax Small Area Plan that the city council approved in June 2020.
According to the letter, the property owner had reached a lease agreement with a new tenant for the Fuddruckers building in May when the city’s Economic Development team contacted them to “relay the City’s eagerness to see the Fuddruckers demolished and the road network extended as soon as possible.”
At last week’s briefing on the concept, the planning commission raised concerns about the building’s height and limited retail space.
The property owner looked at providing up to 3,000 square feet of retail, but determined that “unfortunately eats away at the needed residential lobby and amenity space,” Johnson said.
In order to make the development work, JM International says it would need a density increase of up to 125 units per acre, a 33% reduction from the city’s residential parking requirement, a waiver from parallel parking on the new north-south street and “a moderate amount” of retail frontage adjacent to Chain Bridge.
The garage parking spaces would be broken down into 305 spaces for residents and 11 for the retail. The concept also proposes 12 parallel parking spaces off-site along Northfax Street.
Without the requested incentives, the project risks “becoming merely a standalone retail location,” the letter said.
In addition to replacing a gas station and underutilized retail buildings with housing, the proposed concept would improve the site’s accessibility and ease traffic congestion between Old Town Fairfax and I-66 with the Northfax Street extension, according to the developer.
“By replacing an aging structure situated at a key intersection, the project introduces additional residents and rejuvenates the area,” Johnson wrote. “Given these compelling features, the project holds a high likelihood of realizing its envisioned success.”
An 89-year-old man has died in the wake of a two-vehicle crash on Route 123 (Ox Road) in the Lorton area.
Around 9:40 a.m. on Saturday (Sept. 23), Lloyd South, 89, of Fairfax Station was headed east on Ox Road in a 2014 Nissan Frontier truck when he “disregarded” a stop sign and collided with a 2018 Volvo XC90 SUV, the Fairfax County Police Department reported today (Monday).
“The impact caused the Volvo to spin then collide with a highway sign in the median and into the guardrail,” the FCPD said.
While the police news release didn’t mention a cross-street, scanner traffic on Open MHz indicates that the crash occurred north of the Occoquan bridge.
“A complaintant passed by, giving more information [about] a black truck spinning out, blocking two lanes on southbound 123, a bit more north at…Workhouse [Road],” a dispatcher said at 9:44 a.m.
According to police, South was transported to a hospital, where he died yesterday (Sunday).
The Volvo driver and passengers were also taken to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, the FCPD said.
“Preliminarily, speed and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash,” police said.
South is the 12th person to die as a result of a vehicle crash that didn’t involve a pedestrian in Fairfax County this year, exceeding the 10 such deaths that had occurred at this time last year, according to the FCPD.
He was among two fatalities from the past weekend, joining a pedestrian who was killed on the Capital Beltway (I-495) in the Merrifield area yesterday.
Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on I-66 in the Oakton area last Saturday (Aug. 19).
At 8:24 p.m., Cody P. Riley, a 36-year-old resident of Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, was headed east in the I-66 Express Lanes “at an excessive rate of speed” when he lost control of his 2018 Yamaha FZ09 motorcycle near Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road), VSP said in a news release today (Thursday).
“[The motorcycle] operator was thrown from the vehicle, which came to rest on the left shoulder of the Express Lanes,” VSP said.
Riley died from his injuries at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Police say Riley was wearing a helmet. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
There have been five fatal crashes involving a motorcycle in Fairfax County so far this year, exceeding the four such crashes recorded in 2022 through August, according to Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles data.
(Updated at 5:50 p.m.) A man was taken to the hospital earlier this afternoon after a two-vehicle crash on Route 123 in Oakton.
Officers responded to the crash involving a sedan and a Town of Vienna trash truck at the Hibbard Street intersection at 2:06 p.m., according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The driver of the sedan was found lying on the ground, a dispatcher said on the police scanner via Open MHz.
“One person is being taken to the hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening,” the FCPD said. “Officers are on scene investigating.”
A fire engine from the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department was on the scene blocking off eastbound Chain Bridge Road at the intersection. Congestion was building up on the main road and Hibbard, but the FCPD says “no long-term delays are expected.”
The trash truck driver told FFXnow that he was driving on Chain Bridge Road when the car came out of Hibbard Street and they collided.
“It’s a shame, two kids in the car,” the driver said. “I asked if [the injury] was serious, and they indicated that he’s hurt but not seriously. I don’t know much more than that.”
The FCPD didn’t immediately confirm the circumstances of the crash or whether children were involved.
The City of Fairfax is moving forward with a plan to make the Chain Bridge Road and Eaton Place intersection safer.
After some debate at an April 11 meeting — and an alternate motion was proposed and failed — the Fairfax City Council ultimately voted 4-2 in favor of a redesign to the intersection, which is just outside Oakton near the Fairfax County border.
Changes planned for the intersection include a new sidewalk on the west side of the road, a new traffic signal, and more.
“Improving this intersection, which serves as the northern gateway to the city and connects travelers to the Northfax area, is a top priority for the city,” the city said in a release.
The City of Fairfax received $10.7 million in funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) to evaluate the project and confirm the congestion reduction benefits.
According to the city, the redesign will include:
- Converting the west side service road to one-way inbound from Chain Bridge Road
- Constructing a new exit for Cobbdale vehicular traffic via a new traffic signal (being installed by VDOT) north of Eaton Place
- Constructing a residential sidewalk on the west side of the western service road to enable consolidation of the school bus stops
- Constructing a separate shared use path on the west side service road between the new traffic signal and Eaton Place, to extend the shared use path being installed by VDOT north of the new signal
- Implementing a buffer management plan on the west side buffer to remove dead trees, remove vines from healthy trees, and add supplemental vegetation
- Closing the service road access points from Eaton Place on the east side of the intersection
- Converting the single left southbound left turn lane from Chain Bridge Road to Eaton Place to two lanes controlled by a restricted green arrow (versus allowing lefts on green)
At the city council meeting, Councilmember So Lim said she was torn between the original plan and alternatives suggested by staff.
The proposed design would separate the shared-use path and sidewalk, while staff’s alternative combined the two elements.
Ultimately, Lin said the city had to go with the most safety precautions possible for a project like this.
“I was really torn between alternate plan number one or the recommended plan, but I think the safety of the bikers and pedestrians has to be a priority,” Lim said. “Right now, there may not be many bikers or pedestrians, but once we create a shared use path, that will be here to stay. I have to make a decision, not just about today, but how it’s going to be five or ten years from now. I’m going to support the original plan.”
According to Fairfax City, Chain Bridge Road sees approximately 39,000 vehicles per day, and the Eaton Place intersection “experiences significant congestion and safety concerns.”
“The intersection is a critical component of the regional transportation network, with access ramps to I-66 located just north of the intersection,” the city said in its news release. “The intersection has been the site of many traffic accidents, including fatalities.”
Construction on the improvements isn’t expected to start for another two years, the city says.
