The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) unveiled suggestions for ways to address speeding and safety concerns on Shreve Road in Falls Church during a virtual public information meeting on Oct. 7.

Possible improvements range from minor alterations, such as optical speed bars and vegetation management, to potentially complex projects, like Shrevewood Elementary School roundabouts.

Led by VDOT and the consulting firm Kittelson & Associates, the Shreve Road Corridor Study team emphasized that its goal is to give the City of Falls Church and Fairfax County options to consider, not to make decisions on funding or construction.

“This is a planning-level study,” VDOT transportation planning manager Amir Shahpar said. “The purpose of this study is to develop proposed improvements for localities to apply for funding for some or all of the recommendations.”

VDOT launched the Shreve Road Corridor Study on Mar. 25 in response to the advocacy efforts of the Shreve Road Community Working Group, which formed after a woman was killed in a hit and run at the intersection with Hickory Street in August 2019.

The study focuses on the two-mile section of Shreve that connects Route 29 with Route 7. That stretch averages up to 10,000 vehicles a day, according to VDOT, raising concerns about traffic speed and pedestrian and bicycle safety in the surrounding neighborhoods.

To address the Hickory Curve, the study team proposed adding optical speed bars, enhanced signage, and other means of slowing traffic ahead of the curve; moving the pedestrian pathway; clearing vegetation to improve visibility; or creating a barrier curb and gutter.

VDOT also considered installing additional guardrails to shield pedestrians from motorists but found that they are “not warranted” for that particular location, Kittelson engineering associate Amelia Martin says.

Options for improvements outside Shrevewood Elementary include building roundabouts or removing the street median, but the area’s topography, the presence of utilities, and other factors would make those complicated undertakings. Read More

In the series of Q&A discussions, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) discussed plans to extend the 495 express lanes to the American Legion Bridge. Concerns from local residents about the project ranged from impact on the road to impact on surrounding communities.

While VDOT mostly maintained that the project will help travel times on I-495 and reduce impact on nearby neighborhood traffic, there were other areas where VDOT said the I-495 expansion may not live up to some hopes.

Implementation of dedicated transit, for instance, may not be in the cards without a public subsidy.

“Currently our number one goal is no public subsidies or funding to have this improvement on the Beltway,” said Susan Shaw, director of mega-projects for VDOT. “There’s not been any decision made about whether there would be additional revenue available for any type of transit, and there hasn’t been that kind of commitment, but we’re in discussions with Transurban. First and foremost goal is to complete the project without any public subsidy.”

In response to concerns about 118 acres of tree loss associated with the project, Shaw also said equal reforestation could be tricky.

“When we do reforestation, it needs to be within VDOT write of way,” Shaw said. “We’re often challenged to find space in right of way to do reforestation. Right now, we don’t have a specific budget. That will be something we work through as part of our work as we move into the final design.”

Shaw said the 118 acres projection would be maximum tree loss and VDOT is still working to minimize that.

The project is intended to add more capacity to I-495 to take some of the cut-through traffic off nearby McLean streets, though there are concerns without expansion of the American Legion Bridge and expansion on the Maryland side, the express lanes will only push the bottleneck further north.

Photo via Google Maps

With a public hearing next month, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is hosting a pair of meetings to discuss a plan to extend the I-495 Express Lanes.

The change would extend the existing express lanes from the interchange of I-495 and the Dulles Toll Road up to the American Legion Bridge, already a notorious regional bottleneck for traffic.

The express lanes have tolls that range from 20 cents per mile to $1.25 per mile during rush hour with no official cap. Cars with three or more people do not have to pay the toll.

The goal of the project is to add capacity to the roads and reduce congestion on the Virginia side of the bridge, as well as reducing cut-through traffic

VDOT is hosting meetings from 7-9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, and on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Each meeting is designed as a Q&A with staff following a presentation about the upcoming plans.

The meetings precede a presentation of findings from the environmental assessment and preliminary design plans in a virtual public hearing on Monday, Oct. 5 from 7-9:30 p.m. and an in-person (by appointment) hearing at the McLean Community Center on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 4-8 p.m.

A portion of Dorr Avenue, a street that runs parallel to Gallows Road through a stretch of offices and businesses in Merrifield, will be closed for the next four weeks as crews relocate underground utilities.

The street will be closed off at the intersection with Prosperity Avenue. Traffic to locations along Dorr Avenue, like ArtsFairfax and Prosperity Flats will be redirected to Merrilee Drive one block east.

The closure is expected to start this Thursday, Sept. 24, and last until Thursday, Oct. 22.

“Vehicular traffic from Prosperity Avenue will not be allowed to turn south on to Dorr Avenue,” VDOT said in a press release. “A detour will use Prosperity Avenue, Merrilee Drive, and Merrifield Avenue. Vehicles can access properties along Dorr Avenue from the south during this work, but will not be able to continue through to Prosperity Avenue.”

VDOT said the closure will not impact pedestrian and bicyclist traffic on the sidewalks.

Image via Google Maps, map via VDOT

Late night drivers around Tysons may experience some detours this weekend and next week if they travel around the interchange connecting I-66 and I-495 near Merrifield.

(Updated 8/20/2020) A much-needed bridge replacement is on pause while the City of Falls Church waits to hear if the Virginia Department of Transportation will award the project funding.

Oak Street Bridge, which crosses Tripps Run, is in poor condition. Yearly inspections since 2012 have found several safety concerns and an urgent need to repair or replace the bridge.

While the bridge was repaired last year to fix damage from severe flooding, Falls Church officials want to replace it to make it safer and a better fit for the community.

A staff update to the Falls Church City Council last Monday (Aug. 10) on projects in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) shared that the bridge replacement is the only CIP project that has stopped during the pandemic.

The CIP update noted that the city was expecting to hear back in May or June about its application to VDOT’s State of Good Repair (SGR) program for the remaining $928,000. As of last Monday, the city hasn’t heard anything.

“The SGR program is one of the very few funding sources available for paving and bridges that requires no match,” staff said in the update, noting that infrastructure funding was already competitive before the pandemic.

In November, city staff said that construction could begin in early 2021. The CIP update last week noted that the project design is 90% complete, but the funding shortfall is holding the project up.

Previously, the city announced that the $2.6 million replacement received partial funding through Regional Surface Transportation Program funds.

Aside from the bridge, the majority of the city’s CIP projects have progressed during the pandemic, with 18 on schedule and 11 facing delays. Since the last CIP update in January, the city finished two projects — sanitary sewer infrastructure in West Falls Church and primary extension paving along East Broad Street and Hillwood Avenue.

The city also added two new projects to the CIP list after the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) granted the total funding. One project received $6.9 million to address transit access and multimodal connectivity in West Falls Church. The other project, which received $8.3 million, will tackle multimodal improvements in the downtown area.

The CIP update last week noted that receiving the full funding for both projects was “unexpected, but much needed.”

Update corrects name of NVTA

Image via City of Falls Church

A multi-vehicle crash along eastbound I-66 right before I-495 is causing major traffic for several miles.

“The East left lane, center lane and right lane are closed,” according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Drivers can expect delays for two miles, according to a Fairfax County alert sent out at 4 p.m.

Update: Crash: EB on I-66 at MM64.1 (0.3mi west of I-495S Exit64A) in Fairfax Co. All EB travel lanes closed. 3:52PM

— 511 Northern VA (@511northernva) July 20, 2020

Image via VDOT, map via Google Maps

With sunnier and warmer days ahead, a portion of Tysons Blvd is poised to become a space for cyclists and pedestrians looking for more room to social distance.

Robin Geiger, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Transportation Department (FCDOT), mentioned the plans during a town hall with county officials yesterday.

“We’re going to close a portion of Tysons Blvd to allow for safer biking and pedestrian access for exercise, to increase social distancing, so people can get around Tysons,” Geiger said.

The upcoming closure is part of a pilot project with Tysons Partnership, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Geiger said. While Geiger did not say when the partial road closure is expected or which portion will be closed, she said that FCDOT will announce more information soon.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik praised the project, saying that “it does take quite a bit of coordination” for the county and VDOT to work on road projects.

“I’m just thrilled,” Palchik said.

Closing roads to give cyclists and pedestrians more space during the pandemic has been gaining traction around the U.S., WAMU reported.

“I know bikes are being sold quite a bit these days,” Palchik said, adding that “we take this opportunity to improve our bikeability and walkability.”

Image via Google Maps

(Updated at 6:25 p.m.) Locals way have to wait a little longer than expected for safety solutions along Shreve Road in the Falls Church area due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The road, which runs through the City of Falls Church and Fairfax County, has lately been the focus of safety concerns from local residents and the Shreve Road Community Working Group.

A study is underway by the Virginia Department of Transportation to address the road’s issues. Allison Richter, the liaison to Fairfax and Arlington counties for VDOT, gave an update on the study during a virtual town hall on Monday (May 4).

“We expect there are going to be some solutions that will have to take a little longer,” she said.

Richter said that the COVID-19 pandemic and Virginia’s stay-at-home order have hampered data collection.

“[VDOT is] not doing traffic counts because it’s not as it normally is,” she said. “We’re a little bit held back in some of our studies.”

Status of Projects Along Shreve Road 

So far, the traffic engineering group has reviewed and replaced “obsolete signs,” Richter said.

Dalia Palchik, the Providence District representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said during the meeting that the county is waiting for contractors to finish work near the intersection of Shreve Road and Virginia Lane.

Additionally, she said NoVa Parks is working with an engineer to address work at the W&OD Trail crossing and Shreve Road.

Palchik said that drivers should keep an eye out for lane closures near Gordon Road and Route 7 due to pipe installation.

Providence District School Board Member Karl Frisch said in his email newsletter today that 10 new parking spots have been added to Shrevewood Elementary School.

“Weather permitting, phase two will begin on May 15. When completed, about 17 new spots will have been added,” Frisch said.

Palchik said that the meeting that the new spaces will “help get the cars off of Shreve and into the school.”

Next Steps for Safety Solutions

The study is aiming to identify short- and long-term solutions, along with areas where upgrades are needed and people have continually reported issues, Richter said.

VDOT has lowered the speed from 35 to 30 miles per hour from Leesburg Pike (Route 7) to Wieland Place. Richter said that calls from residents to reduce the speed further to 25 miles per hour is still a possibility.

“I’m not going to rule that out, but we’ll also be looking at other measures like increasing enforcement or traffic calming tools,” she said, adding that a speed study was done in 2019.

People can expect the final report sometime in November, according to Richter’s presentation.

Public Support Sought for Grant Application

The Shreve Road Community Working Group’s website notes that people can submit comments on a grant application to Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA).

According to the group’s website, the $6.9 million transportation grant would be used to:

• install a 10-foot multi-use path and 6-foot planting strip along Shreve Road
• add a crosswalk near the intersection of Shreve and Gordon roads
• add a landscape buffer and lighting changes

People have until May 24 to submit comments online or via email at [email protected].

Image via Google Maps

Work on a new ramp linking eastbound I-66 to the West Falls Church Metro station is expected to start today (Monday).

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) said in a press release that the work, which is a part of the I-66 Eastbound Widening Project, will connect two existing ramps.

“This direct access will save time for motorists on I-66 East who are headed to the West Falls Church Metrorail station and reduce traffic on Route 7,” Mark Gibney, VDOT’s design-build project manager, said in the press release.

More from VDOT:

When the project is complete, drivers will exit I-66 East for Route 7, stay left to connect to the ramp from Route 7 East to I-66 East, then stay right to reach Falls Church Drive and the West Falls Church Metrorail station.

All improvements will be performed within existing VDOT right-of-way.

Construction activities will begin with shoulder strengthening on the left side of I-66 East approaching the Route 7 interchange and along the left side of the Route 7 East ramp to I-66 East so traffic can be shifted to the left.

The two existing ramps will remain open during construction, although traffic shifts and occasional overnight traffic stoppages will be required. Construction will occur during daytime and nighttime hours.

VDOT expects the new ramp to open later this year.

Map via Google Maps