Commuters and residents want to see more bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements along Route 50 in the Falls Church area.

At a meeting hosted by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) last night, VDOT officials and residents discussed different ideas for improving the route, which has up to 51,000 vehicles travel daily, according to VDOT.

The meeting coincidentally happened a day after a 40-year-old man was struck and killed at the intersection of Route 50 and Graham Road. On a map of reported crashes since 2013, that intersection had two reports of fatal crashes, along with dozens of other crashes ranging in severity from property damage to serious injuries.

A study is underway to evaluate potential safety and operational changes for three miles of Route 50 between Jaguar Trail and Wilson Blvd.

VDOT officials said that the study is looking at data showing crash hotspots, speed and traffic count from January 2013 to the spring of 2019 and projections out to 2030.

“We don’t go into a study with the solutions already in hand,” Allison Richter, the liaison for Fairfax and Arlington counties, said.

The possible improvements VDOT is looking at include:

• traffic signal timing/operations
• turn lane
• turn restrictions
• access management
• pedestrian enhancements
• “innovative intersections“

Richter said that bike and pedestrian safety improvements are under consideration.

About 50 people showed up for the meeting, including Fairfax County police, Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross, School Board Member Dalia Palchik and Tom Biesiadny, the director of Fairfax County’s transportation department.

Many of the people who lined up to provide feedback to VDOT pointed out specific problem areas — urging for time-restricted turn lanes, signal timing changes — and more focus on bicyclists, pedestrians and people using mass public transit.

“This area is becoming more urban over time,” one attendee told VDOT officials, adding that VDOT should focus on safety over speed for drivers.

Added safety measures could include two-way bike lanes on one-way service roads and more lighting, attendees said.

Sonya Breehey, a bike safety advocate, suggested traffic calming on the frontage roads.

“Arlington Blvd scares me,” Breehey said.

A handful of people called for VDOT to lower the speed limit from 45 miles per hour, with one person suggesting a new speed limit of 35 miles per hour.

One man who provided feedback urged VDOT to not forget about drivers, who might face slower speeds and longer travel times.

“Better late to dinner than dead,” someone from the audience shouted after the man finished commenting.

“Please be respectful,” the man responded.

People can take an online survey — which allows respondents to mark problem spots on a map and rank the six possible improvements — and submit comments to Bobby Mangalath, at 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, Va. 22030 by next Thursday, Oct. 31.

VDOT plans to hold another information meeting when the study wraps up in the spring.

Next week, people can give their input on ways to improve Route 50 in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is holding a meeting on Monday (Oct. 21) to get community feedback about a Route 50 study that started in June and is currently underway.

The study is looking at potential safety and operational changes for three miles of Route 50 between Jaguar Trail and Wilson Blvd. Up to 51,000 vehicles travel daily in the area of Route 50, according to VDOT.

Possible improvements include:

• traffic signal timing/operations
• turn lane
• turn restrictions
• access management
• pedestrian enhancements
• “innovative intersections“

The meeting is set to take place in the cafeteria at Falls Church High School (7521 Jaguar Trail) from 6:30-8:30 p.m. A short presentation will start at 7 p.m., followed by time for questions with VDOT staff.

People can take an online survey and submit comments at the meeting or by Thursday, Oct. 31, to Bobby Mangalath, at 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.

VDOT plans to hold another information meeting when the study wraps up in the spring.

Photo via VDOT

Drivers have one week left to use the Vaden Drive Bridge over I-66 before it closes and gets replaced by a new bridge.

The bridge, which is near the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station, will be closed for about 10 months starting at 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 18.

The closure is apart of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s multi-year Transform 66 project.

“The previously announced bridge closure is expected to cut in half — from 24 months to 12 months — the time needed to demolish the existing bridge and construct a new one,” according to an update yesterday from VDOT. “This shortened schedule will help reduce construction impacts on adjacent communities and roadway users.”

A new bridge is getting built to accommodate more cars and the I-66 widening. People can keep a lookout for the construction to start on the new bridge in November, with an anticipated opening next September.

While the bridge is closed, drivers will be detoured to Nutley Street to get to I-66. Pedestrians will be detoured to the pedestrian bridge at the Metro station.

Demolition of the bridge is expected to be finished by early December, according to VDOT.

Crews will also work on the intersection of Saintsbury Drive and Nutley Street while the detour is in place.

The parking garages at the Metro station will remain open.

Image via Google Maps

Drivers who regularly take Towers Crescent Drive might want to budget in more time now that the road has two new stop signs near Ring Road and is undergoing road work.

Currently, the road is being repaved, Ellen Kamilakis, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation, told Tysons Reporter.

Towers Crescent Drive will soon have a new traffic pattern.

“The final roadway configurations will have one lane in each direction with either left-turn lanes or two-way left turning lane in the middle,” Kamilakis said. “In addition, it will have a bike lane in each direction.”

In response to Tysons Reporter’s question about when the repaving will be finished, Kamilakis said, “It should be relatively soon as the asphalt plants don’t stay open year-round.”

Multi-way stop signs were installed on Sept. 25 at the intersection of Towers Crescent Drive and Ring Road, Kamilakis said.

With the combination of the stop signs and the work blocking a southbound lane, traffic slowed down on Towers Crescent Drive when Tysons Reporter visited yesterday morning.

An upcoming meeting at the end of October will provide an update to locals about work to repair two flood-damaged roads in McLean.

The 1300 block of Kirby Road and Swinks Mill Road by Scott’s Run closed due to severe storm damage from flash flooding in July.

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust will host the meeting with county staff and representatives from the Virginia Department of Transporation (VDOT) on Thursday, Oct. 24.

“This meeting will still provide residents with the opportunity to learn more and speak directly with VDOT and county staff regarding specific questions,” Foust said in an email to constituents.

VDOT expects Kirby Road to reopen in mid-December. While VDOT has said it planned to have work on Swinks Mill Road done by the end of September, Foust said in an email to constituents that it is now slated to finish in early October.

The meeting is set to take place at 7 p.m. at Chesterbrook Elementary School (1753 Kirby Road).

Attendees will have the chance to ask officials questions about the progress of the repairs.

Photo courtesy VDOT

Work to repair one of two flood-damaged McLean roads is taking longer than originally expected.

The 1300 block of Kirby Road and Swinks Mill Road by Scott’s Run are still closed due to severe storm damage from July 8 flash flooding. The Virginia Department of Transporation (VDOT) has said that both roads will stay closed for several months.

In an update yesterday (Thursday), VDOT said that work on Kirby Road is slated to be finished in mid-December instead of late November.

“The road is expected to safely reopen to through traffic in mid-December, and final asphalt and lane striping will continue through May 2020,” VDOT said in an update yesterday (Thursday).

“Martins Construction Corporation has been awarded a $2.1 million emergency contract for repairs, and work is anticipated to begin the week of Sept. 23,” VDOT said.

Meanwhile, work on Swinks Mill Road is expected to be done by the end of this month, VDOT said, adding that crews are currently working on reconstructing the bridge deck and making sub-structure repairs.

VDOT also provided information on the progress this week for both roads:

Swinks Mill Road at Scotts Run

In the last month, crews have:

• Excavated and poured concrete working surfaces on the downstream side on which the footers will be built
• Installed rebar and poured two footers on the downstream side
• Installed rebar and support for the stem wall on the downstream right-side abutment
• Partially installed rebar for stem wall on the downstream left-side abutment

Kirby Road at Pimmit Run 

Martins Construction Corporation’s work includes:

• Relocation of Little Pimmit Run to its previous stream alignment in compliance with federal/state permitting agencies
• Rebuilding the washed-out section of Kirby Road with concrete and rip rap
• Replacement of a more than 50-year-old, 24-inch sanitary sewer line
• Reconstruction of the bridge over Pimmit Run with work on the abutments, wing walls, parapets, bridge deck and approaches

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust wrote in an email to constituents yesterday that he is working with other elected officials to set up a community meeting “to provide residents with an opportunity to learn more about these emergency repairs and ask questions.”

Photo courtesy VDOT

After months of waiting, pedestrians and drivers can expect two McLean roads severely damaged by flash flooding in July now to reopen this fall.

The 1300 block of Kirby Road and Swinks Mill Road by Scott’s Run have been closed since the July 8 storm. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has said that it will take months to repair the damage.

In a newsletter to residents, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said that VDOT plans to complete repairs to Swinks Mill Road by the end of this month and Kirby Road by late November.

“VDOT is working on both roads concurrently and has committed to aggressive schedules for completing the repairs on each road,” Foust wrote in the newsletter.

VDOT is looking to secure an emergency contract for bridge and road repair at Kirby Road.

More from the newsletter:

Kirby Road has been cleared of debris, and temporary repairs to the bridge and roadway have been completed to make travel safe for local residents until the permanent repairs can be completed. However, the road is not open to through traffic. Safety and structural assessments have been completed, as have boundary and topographic surveys, which are being used to plan the repairs. Identification of types and locations of utilities have been completed, and utility repairs are planned.

The design has been finalized for a contractor bid, with the contract expected to be awarded by mid-September. Completion of the roadway and bridge repairs is expected by late November, with the roadway being completed first in order to maintain access to homes, and the bridge repairs being completed after.

Swinks Mill Road has been cleared of debris and been made safe for travel for local residents and emergency responders, but the Swinks Mill bridge was and remains closed. Safety and structural assessments, as well as boundary and topographic surveys, are being used to develop plans for the repairs. The bridge design has been finalized. VDOT state crews began making the permanent repairs on August 9. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Kirby and Swinks Mill roads weren’t the only local ones damaged — VDOT has said that “extensive repairs” were made to 12 McLean-area roads right after the storm.

Some attendees at a meeting about a multi-year road project that recently kicked off in the Vienna area said they are worried about traffic impacts.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently working on its Transform 66 project, which includes construction near the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station.

Rich Clifton, the project’s design engineer from FAM Consulting LLC, provided attendees with a construction update at a meeting yesterday (Sept. 4) at the Providence Community Center. Every seat was filled for the presentation at 7 p.m., with dozens of people standing in the back.

Starting today (Sept. 5), the ramp from Saintsbury Drive to eastbound I-66 will be permanently closed.

The ramp will temporarily reopen for buses during the weekday from October 2019 to September 2020 while another road construction project is underway. Clifton strongly urged non-bus drivers to stay off of the ramp.

“The ramp can’t handle the volume of traffic if it was open to the general public,” Clifton. “There are 19 bus routes that go over Vaden.”

Along I-66, the barrier between the collector-distributor (CD) road and eastbound I-66 will be removed and access to I-66 from the CD road and Nutley Street will shift east of Vaden Drive.

On westbound I-66, the lanes will shift, along with the CD road. Clifton said that the exit ramp to Country Creek Drive will remain open.

Starting in October, the bridge at Vaden Drive will close for demolition and construction of a new bridge — a process that will take about a year, Clifton said.

“We’ll try to stay out of Nutley while we work on Vaden bridge,” Clifton said.

While the bridge is closed, drivers will have 2-mile-long detours to follow. A modification of traffic flow at the Nutley Street intersection and Saintsbury Drive will accommodate the detour, Clifton said.

Some attendees at the meeting said that they expect drivers to head west instead of following the detour, possibly clogging up local roads. Clifton said that posted signs about the detours are meant to encourage drivers to take detour routes, but that there is no guarantee that drivers won’t come up with their own directions.

For pedestrians, a shorter detour will allow them to use the bridge at the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station, which will stay open all day and night. Clifton said that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will be able to close off the station, while keeping the gates open for the bridge.

In about six months, work will start on Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) to relocate utilities and to construct bridges, ramps and new box culverts for a future path.

A temporary traffic pattern change will allow for the construction of new ramps:

• westbound I-66 and northbound Route 123
• westbound I-66 and southbound Route 123
• eastbound I-66 and northbound Route 123
• southbound Route 123 and eastbound I-66

There will also be four new traffic signals in that area.

Once all of that work is finished, construction will start on the Nutley Street and I-66 interchange.

While a diverging diamond design was proposed a few years ago, Clifton said that the interchange will instead have a double roundabout.

That work is slated to finish up in the early part of 2022.

After several questions about traffic for each portion of the project, Clifton told attendees to check out the traffic impacts online.

Maps via VDOT

A meeting tonight (Wednesday) will provide an update on the upcoming work near the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently working on its Transform 66 project.

The meeting will provide a construction update on:

• the planned closure of Vaden Drive Bridge over I-66 from fall to summer 2020
• rebuilding the Route 123 interchange
• the design for the Nutley Street interchange

The meeting will take place 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Providence Community Center (3001 Vaden Drive) with presentations at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Image via Google Maps

A 28-year-old McLean man was killed in a crash involving multiple vehicles along I-66 near Centreville.

A series of chain-reaction crashes involving five sedans, one SUV, one pick-up truck and a tractor-trailer happened shortly before 11 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 24) in the westbound lanes of I-66 east of exit 53 for Route 28, according to Virginia State Police.

More from Corinne Geller, a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police:

A 2007 BMW sedan was traveling west on I-66 when it struck the vehicle in front of it. The BMW then collided with a westbound tractor-trailer.

The tractor-trailer then collided with several vehicles, to include a Toyota Rav4, before overturning in the roadway. The Toyota Rav4 ran off the right side of I-66 and over the Jersey wall, at which point it caught fire.

McLean resident Joseph Castellano, who was the driver of the Toyota, died at the scene, Geller said.

His wife, who was a passenger in the car, was flown to a trauma center in D.C. and is still being treated for life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the BMW, 40-year-old Jonathyn Bland of Centerville, was transported to Reston Hospital for minor injuries, along with the driver of the tractor-trailer, 34-year-old Shahbaz Singh of Fairfax, for serious, but non-life threatening injuries, Geller said.

Police charged both Bland and Singh with reckless driving.

“The three other individuals transported to Reston Hospital — one had serious, but non-life threatening injuries and other two suffered minor injuries,” Geller said.

Fairfax County Fire and Fairfax County Police assisted state police at the scene, Geller said. The Virginia State Police is investigating the crash.

Photo via VDOT/Twitter