Home Depot Buys Tysons Property But Plans Are Unclear — “The Atlanta-based home improvement giant paid $35.9 million for 2000 Chain Bridge Road, a 7.08-acre site at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Leesburg Pike, according to public records.” [Washington Business Journal]
Bridge Work Reduces I-66 Approaching Cedar Lane to One Travel Lane — “Overnight lane closures and traffic stoppages are planned on I-66 East and West in Vienna area Monday, January 25, through Friday, January 29, for overhead bridge work at Cedar Lane. This work is part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.” [VDOT]
Vienna Storage Room Fire Still Under Investigation — The cause of a storage room fire that occured on Dec. 19 at the 9300 block of Lee Highway remains under investigation. Fire investigators are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying three persons of interest and getting information about vehicles that may have been damaged at the time. [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Walmart Partners with Tysons Startup on Home Deliveries — Walmart announced on Jan. 12 that it will partner with the Tysons-based startup HomeValet on a pilot project to test temperature-controlled smart boxes that could allow groceries to “be delivered, contact-free, to the secure box and kept cold at any time — even if the customer isn’t at home.” [TechCrunch]
Tysons Tops D.C. Suburbs in Number of New Apartments — “According to RENTCafé, 2,562 new units have been completed in Tysons in the past five years, putting the locale tenth nationwide for the most suburban apartment construction.” [DC UrbanTurf]
Major Falls Church Developments Seek Changes — The City of Falls Church is considering proposed revisions to its agreements with developers on the Gateway, Founders Row, and Broad and Washington projects. The city council will vote on the latter two tonight (Monday). [Falls Church News-Press]
Staff Photo by Jay Westcott
Fairfax Connector has suspended service to bus stop 2605 on Leesburg Pike and Laurel Hill Road until December to accommodate construction on Route 7.
The temporary bus stop closure took immediate effect around noon today, and it is expected to last until approximately the end of 2021, the Fairfax County transit system says.
According to Fairfax Connector, the suspension of service was necessitated by a traffic switch that began this week on Leesburg Pike between Lewinsville Road and Jarrett Valley Drive in the McLean area.
The Virginia Department of Transportation initiated a lane shift and closed direct access to Route 7 from Laurel Hill and Old Ash Grove as part of its Route 7 corridor improvement project, which is widening the highway between Tysons and Reston. The traffic changes will be in effect until late 2021.
Fairfax Connector advises passengers to use stop 2673 as an alternative to the closed stop. Stop 2673 is located near the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Lewinsville Road across from the McLean Bible Church.
⚠️ Effective immediately until December 2021, stop 2605 (Leesburg Pk/Laurel Hill Rd) will be suspended due to road construction. Use stop 2673 (Leesburg Pk/Lewinsville Rd) as an alternate. Thank you for your patience.
— Fairfax Connector (@ffxconnector) January 21, 2021
Photo via Google Maps
Drivers on eastbound Route 7 in the McLean area should prepare for a lane shift and other traffic changes starting on Tuesday (Jan. 19), the Virginia Department of Transportation announced yesterday (Wednesday).
The eastbound lane on Leesburg Pike between Lewinsville Road and Jarrett Valley Drive will be shifted north toward the median, and direct access between Route 7 and two side streets — Laurel Hill Road and Old Ash Grove — will be temporarily closed.
Until late 2021, drivers to and from Laurel Hill Road, Old Ash Grove, and Glenridge Court will instead need to use the service road between Old Ash Grove and McLean Bible Church (8925 Leesburg Pike) to get to and from Route 7.
The intersection of Laurel Hill Road and the service road will be converted into a three-way stop intersection for the duration of the closure.
“All residences, businesses and other public facilities will remain accessible,” VDOT said.
The lane shift and side street access cut-offs are necessitated by VDOT’s Route 7 corridor improvement project, which is widening the highway from four to six lanes, adding shared-use paths, and making intersection improvements on the seven-mile stretch of road between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive.
The changes will “increase capacity, improve safety and traffic flow, and enhance mobility for cyclists and pedestrians,” according to the project website.
The project carries a total estimated cost of $313.9 million, and construction is not expected to be finished until July 31, 2024.
While construction is ongoing, the speed limit on Route 7 has been reduced to 45 miles per hour in active work zones between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive.
“Please use caution and be alert to work zone signs, potential flagger or police direction, and watch for traffic shifts,” VDOT says. “Slow-moving vehicles and equipment may be entering or exiting the road.”
Images via Google Maps, VDOT
A reconstructed Cedar Lane Bridge over Interstate 66 in Vienna will reopen to traffic today as anticipated, the Virginia Department of Transportation confirmed yesterday (Tuesday).
Restoring Cedar Lane’s connection between Cottage Street to the north and Route 29 (Lee Highway) to the south, the new bridge is wider and features a sidewalk on its west side. A new shared-use path on the bridge’s east side will eventually link to a 66 Parallel Trail being developed from Dunn Loring to Centreville.
VDOT closed the bridge to both drivers and pedestrians on May 15 so that crews could demolish the existing structure and build the new one.
The bridge reconstruction is part of VDOT’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which is adding toll lanes along 22 miles of highway between Vienna and Gainesville.
The Cedar Lane Bridge reopening will enable Fairfax Connector to restore service on Routes 462 and 467 between the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station and Tysons Corner to the routes and schedules they had before the bridge closed.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation announced last week that it will also add Sunday service to Route 467.
Until the service changes take effect on Jan. 4, Fairfax Connector buses will continue following a modified route that utilizes Cottage Street and Gallows Road for those two routes.
Even with the new bridge completed, some construction activities will continue in the Cedar Lane area.
“Drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other bridge users should be alert for continued construction activity in the area surrounding the bridge, including completion of nearby sidewalks, noise walls, and the shared-use path along I-66,” VDOT said.
Photo courtesy VDOT
Travel on Interstate 66 will be reduced to one lane in both directions from Cedar Lane in Vienna to Route 7 every night through Saturday (Dec. 19), the Virginia Department of Transportation announced today (Thursday).
VDOT has been closing lanes on the highway between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. since Dec. 14 in order to address overhead utility work for the new Gallows Road Bridge that it has been constructing, but the lane closures were originally expected to end today.
The I-66 lane closures will last from 9:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, with intermittent full stoppages of up to 20 minutes between midnight and 4 a.m.
The reduction of travel on Gallows Road over I-66 to one lane and the overnight closure of the ramp from the I-495 North Express Lanes to I-66 West have also been extended to Saturday.
According to VDOT, the 495 ramp closure will last from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night. Traffic will be detoured to I-66 via the Route 7 exit during that time.
The Gallows Road lane closure will take place from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“Drivers should expect delays if traveling in this area and are encouraged to use alternate routes,” VDOT said.
The state transportation agency also noted that work is dependent on the weather and may be rescheduled if inclement conditions occur.
Construction on the new Gallows Road Bridge has been ongoing throughout the year as part of VDOT’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project. The bridge is being reconstructed to make room for the new Express Lanes.
VDOT plans to demolish the old Gallows bridge once the new one for northbound Gallows is completed in early 2021, but according to the current project timeline, the full bridge is not expected to be complete until early 2022.
Photo via VDOT
The realignment of Old Meadow Road with Capital One Drive along Route 123 in Tysons is nearly complete.
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project announced yesterday (Tuesday) that crews have finished the final asphalt, curb, and striping work on the project, which is being managed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority as part of its expansion of Metro’s Silver Line.
“Crews have installed the pedestals for the pedestrian walkway signals and the signal work will be done in the near future,” the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project said in its update. “Demobilization of the worksite has started and will be completed by the end of December.”
Work on the street realignment has been underway since March and was originally expected to finish in August. The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project cited changing site conditions and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause of the delay.
Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Transportation requested that MWAA realign Old Meadow Road at Dolley Madison Boulevard to improve access to the Capital One complex, which was affected by Silver Line construction at the McLean Metro Station.
According to the Dulles Metrorail Corridor Project, project officials had contemplated a proposal that would have closed Old Meadow long-term, but traffic studies illustrated that the impact would be too extreme.
Final completion of the realignment project has been set for the end of this year, pending Dominion Energy’s schedule for energizing the meter for the new pedestrian signals.
Image via Google Maps
Fairfax County Park Authority Director Announces Retirement Plans — “The executive director of the Fairfax County Park Authority in Virginia announced his plans to retire in February 2021 on Friday. Kirk Kincannon has served with the FCPA since 2014, and did a 10-year stint with the agency earlier in his career.” [WTOP]
Westbound Route 7 Roadwork Prompts Lane Shift — “Beginning on or about Monday, Dec. 7, drivers on westbound Route 7 will experience a lane shift to the north (away from the median) between Jarrett Valley Drive and Lewinsville Road as crews continue to build the improvements along Route 7 that will add a third lane and shared-use paths in each direction.” [Virginia Department of Transportation]
Tysons Annual Report Shows Mixed Results on Housing — “The 2020 report provides some important updates on housing construction in Tysons, and it also provides an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan’s income-restricted housing requirements.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Staff Photo by Jay Westcott
Efforts to rehabilitate the northbound and southbound Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) bridges over Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) in Tysons are now complete, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced today (Tuesday).
VDOT says the rehabilitation work was critical for “improving safety for drivers and pedestrians, giving drivers a smoother ride, and extending the overall life of the bridges,” which were first built in 1965.
The improvements include:
- Repairing the bridge decks and resurfacing the decks with asphalt
- Repairing bridge piers, abutments and bearings
- Spot painting of steel bridge beams
The northbound and southbound lanes of Route 123 adjacent to the bridges were repaved.
Financed with federal and state money, including the State of Good Repair funding used for bridges, construction on the $2.5 million project began in January and concluded in November. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, according to VDOT.
VDOT says that Route 123 averages up to 31,000 vehicles a day, and Route 7 averages up to 86,000 vehicles per day at the bridges.
Photo via VDOT
Nighttime travel on Interstate 66 might require some extra planning this week due to lane closures necessitated by construction on a new Gallows Road Bridge.
Starting tonight (Monday), I-66 East will be reduced to one travel lane approaching Gallows Road from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. The Virginia Department of Transportation says that, between midnight and 4 a.m., drivers should expect periodic stoppages that could last up to 20 minutes.
In addition, the ramp from the Interstate 495 Express Lanes North to I-66 West will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Traffic will be detoured onto I-66 East, which will lead to Route 7. Once on Leesburg Pike, vehicles will stay to the left, turn left at the traffic signal, and then follow road signs to I-66 West.
The I-495 express lanes ramp and one-lane I-66 East closures will take place every night through Dec. 3.
On Dec. 2 and 3, VDOT will also reduce I-66 West to one travel lane approaching Gallows Road from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
“Drivers should expect delays if traveling in this area and are encouraged to use alternate routes,” VDOT says.
Overnight lane closures have been a recurring sight around Gallows Road since mid-November, when VDOT started reconstructing the bridge over I-66 for its Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which will add express lanes along 22.5 miles of road from I-495 in Vienna to Gainesville.
According to VDOT, the bridge is being lengthened, widened, raised, and shifted east to align with the new I-66 Express Lanes while making room for future Gallows Road improvements.
The new bridge will also include a five-foot bike lane in both directions, a seven-foot-wide sidewalk on the northbound side of the road, and improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities tied to the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro Station.
The new bridge is being constructed in two phases with an expected completion date of early 2021.
A renovated Vaden Drive Bridge over Interstate 66 in Vienna will be open to vehicle traffic by Wednesday (Nov. 25) after being closed for more than a year for construction.
With the bridge reopening, vehicles on Vaden Drive will no longer have to detour onto Nutley Street, but pedestrians will still have to use the nearby Vienna Metro station’s pedestrian bridge until a planned shared-use path and sidewalk on the bridge is finished in December.
Other ongoing construction activities around the Vaden Drive Bridge involve:
- A redesign of the entrances from Vaden Drive to the Metro parking garages, which is expected to finish in December
- A new sidewalk on the bridge’s east side scheduled to open in summer 2021
- New ramps to and from the future I-66 Express Lanes
The Virginia Department of Transportation warns drivers to use caution as construction activities continue, and people adjust to new travel patterns.
The new Vaden Drive Bridge is part of VDOT’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which is widening the interstate with 22.5 miles of express lanes from I-495 in Idylwood to University Boulevard in Gainesville.
The part of the project around the Vienna Metro station also involved improvements to the Nutley and Saintsbury Drive intersection and the closure of the Saintsbury ramp to I-66 East.
VDOT says the rebuilt Vaden Drive Bridge “will improve access to the station for vehicles, commuter buses, cyclists, and pedestrians.”
As part of the Transform 66 project, VDOT is also rebuilding the Cedar Lane bridge over I-66 to accommodate the interstate’s expansion. The bridge was closed on May 15 for demolition, and the new one is expected to reopen in mid-December.
Photos via Google Maps, VDOT
