Route 7 | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published August 8, 2022 at 7:30AM | Updated August 8, 2022 at 8:55AM

A car at the Franconia-Springfield Metro station pick-up line (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Sidewalk Projects Planned to Address Route 7 Pedestrian Safety — Virginia and Fairfax County officials are working to add sidewalks along Route 7 in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads. Prioritized sites include the Liberty gas station where a pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle in December, prompting safety advocates to campaign for improvements. [Annandale Today]

Person Rescued from Lincolnia House Fire — “Units arrived on scene with smoke visible and fire on the second floor. Two of three occupants evacuated the home prior to fire department arrival. One occupant was trapped in a bedroom. Crews rescued the occupant via a ground ladder — unharmed!” [FCFRD]

Countywide

Maryland driver charged after I-495 police pursuit ends with car flipping in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 5, 2022 at 10:15AM

A Virginia State Police vehicle (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A Maryland driver has been arrested after leading police on an extended chase down the Capital Beltway yesterday (Monday) that crossed state lines and ended with a car flip in Tysons.

According to Montgomery County police, its officers were on the lookout for 26-year-old Frederick K. Njihia of Germantown after getting a report of a man shooting a rifle at people, including a local sanitation worker whose vehicle was hit multiple times.

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Report: High speeds, few crossings endanger pedestrians on Route 7 in Bailey’s Crossroads

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 14, 2022 at 1:45PM

Pedestrians cross Route 7 at Glen Carlyn Drive in Culmore (photo by Sonya Breehey)

For residents of Bailey’s Crossroads, particularly the Culmore area, crossing the street is no small feat.

In some spots along Route 7, it means surviving six lanes of traffic traveling at 40 miles an hour without the refuge of a median or sidewalk, or walking two blocks to reach the nearest crosswalk. Limited street lighting creates an added danger at night.

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published May 10, 2022 at 7:30AM

Wall art by Starr Hill Biergarten at The Perch in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

County Board to Adopt New Budget Today — “Board of Supervisors set to adopt FY23 budget tomorrow, May 10. It fully funds @fcpsnews employee compensation and invests in priorities. $96 million balance to reduce real estate tax rate, increase affordable housing, parks, among others.” [Fairfax County Government/Twitter]

Lee District Gets New Community Center — Elected officials and community members gathered on Saturday (May 7) to cut the ribbon for Fairfax County’s new Lee District Community Center, which will provide recreation, educational workshops, and other programs to residents in the Buckman Road area on the west side of Richmond Highway. The center also hosts a workforce training and development center. [Neighborhood and Community Services]

News

Key Route 7 intersection to open this spring, as road widening continues

By Fatimah Waseem

Published April 15, 2022 at 12:45PM

The project is expected to finish in the summer of 2024 (Photo via VDOT).

The widening of Route 7 is roughly 60% complete, remaining on schedule for completion by July 2024.

The $314 million project is expanding Route 7 from four to six lanes with significant updates at 19 intersections and shared-use paths along both sides of the road between Reston and Tysons. Other projects include replacing the bridge over Difficult Run.

News

Tysons tax revenues help fully fund design of Route 7 widening

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 12, 2022 at 1:30PM

Route 7 seen from Route 123 in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County has secured all the funding it needs to design a future widening of Route 7 from Route 123 to I-495 in Tysons.

The Tysons Transportation Service District Advisory Board approved allocating up to $7.8 million from the district’s tax revenues to the Route 7 project last month, a move recommended by Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff.

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Route 7 work affects access to Colvin Run Mill

By Fatimah Waseem

Published April 4, 2022 at 12:45PM

Accessing the 200-year-old mill may become more difficult (Photo via Fairfax County Government).

Accessing the Colvin Run Mill Historic Site may require a legendary feat until June.

As the widening of Route 7 continues, construction has started to impede easy access to the historic site, which is located at 10017 Colvin Run Road in Great Falls.

Countywide

UPDATED: Driver charged with DWI after Route 7 crash that hospitalized four

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 4, 2022 at 9:00AM | Updated April 4, 2022 at 11:26AM

Four people were hospitalized by a vehicle crash at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Colvin Run Road in Great Falls (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 11:25 a.m.) Fairfax County police arrested a driver involved in the crash on Route 7 that sent four people to the hospital on Saturday (April 2).

Richard Asenso Donkor, 23, from Sterling has been charged with driving while intoxicated — his second DWI in five years, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

Countywide

Fairfax County will consider express option for Route 7 rapid bus service

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 23, 2022 at 10:30AM

The planned Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit system will extend from Tysons to Alexandria (via NVTC)

Fairfax County officials have not ruled out the possibility of incorporating pull-off areas on Route 7 for the bus rapid transit (BRT) system planned along the corridor from Tysons to Alexandria.

Areas for buses to pull off or pass each other would let the road accommodate an express service for riders who want to get from one end of the route to the other without having to make every stop in between, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity proposed at the county Board of Supervisors’ meeting yesterday (Tuesday).

Countywide

Residents, advocacy groups rally for Route 7 safety upgrades

By David Taube

Published March 16, 2022 at 11:15AM | Updated February 27, 2023 at 1:09PM

CASA members call for safety upgrades to Route 7 in Bailey's Crossroads (staff photo by David Taube)

Families, including young children, called for changes yesterday (Tuesday) to make the Route 7 corridor in Bailey’s Crossroads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

At a rally organized by the immigrant advocacy organization CASA and the transit nonprofit Coalition for Smarter Growth at the corner of Route 7 and Glen Carlyn Drive, mother Viviana Valverde, who is pregnant with her third child, said through a translator that the area has become more dangerous due to a lack of signage.