A stretch of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in southern Fairfax County is moving toward some major changes, as is the neighboring Mount Vernon Trail.
The National Park Service, which maintains the GW Parkway and much of the Mount Vernon Trail, plans to start “initial design work and planning for key aspects of the project” this year, per a Jan. 26 press release.
Fairfax City will complete the George Snyder Trail as planned after all.
In response to some community concerns, the Fairfax City Council discussed changing the pedestrian and bicycle project’s scope or even canceling it altogether during its meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 23). But council members failed to agree on any of the proposed alternatives, allowing the city to stay the course by default.
Missing pedestrian links along Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston may soon be filled following the acquisition of land.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors formally accepted land at 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive from developer JBG Smith, which owns the Sheraton hotel there.
Town of Herndon officials are seeking $1.5 million in federal funds for major improvements along Sterling Road.
At a Herndon Town Council work session on Dec. 5, town staff noted that no local match is required to proceed with the project. The town is also requesting $500,000 for ADA-compliant sidewalk and trails improvements throughout Herndon.
(Updated at 9:25 a.m. on 12/15/2023) The long-running effort to bring bus rapid transit (BRT) service to Route 7 is about to enter a new stage of planning, but for some Fairfax County leaders, the milestone doubles as a reminder of how much more still needs to be done to turn Northern Virginia’s vision into a reality.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement at its Dec. 5 meeting to help fund an engineering study and environmental analysis required to implement the bus system, which will serve the corridor from the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons to the Mark Center in Alexandria.
Any extension of the I-495 Express Lanes along the south side of the Capital Beltway should support additional transit options, Fairfax County leaders stressed in a recent letter to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
VDOT is currently studying options for completing the I-495 toll lanes by expanding them from the I-395/I-95 interchange in Springfield to Maryland Route 210 in Prince George’s County, an approximately 11-mile span that crosses the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Alexandria.
Construction on an overhaul of the Fairfax County Parkway and Popes Head Road interchange is slated to begin by the end of this year.
The Virginia Department of Transportation awarded a $49 million construction contract for the project in Fairfax Station last week to the Roanoke-based company Branch Civil, which is expected to begin on-site activities in December.
(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Fairfax County is beginning talks for a pedestrian crossing at a dangerous intersection of Wiehle Avenue at the Dulles Toll Road ramps in Reston.
As part of its plan to redevelop the Campus Commons office complex, developer TF Cornerstones has agreed to give the county $1.65 million to build an alternative crossing for the area after a study group failed to reach consensus on a preferred alternative for the site in 2021.
Updated at 8:40 p.m. on 11/8/2023 — The community workshop has been relocated to the cafeteria of Langston Hughes Middle School (11401 Ridge Heights Road).
Earlier: Fairfax County is formally launching a new study on how to shift Wiehle Avenue from a car-dominated, suburban road to a multimodal, urban street.
Fairfax City is starting to refine its plans to add bicycle facilities on University Drive.
The project will “implement bicycle facilities on University Drive between Layton Hall Drive and South Street, with shared lane markings through the center of Old Town and bicycle lanes to the north,” according to the city’s website.
