Fairfax County supervisors on July 30 authorized the county’s transportation director to execute a Project Administration Agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for continued implementation of the Route 7 widening project from Route 123 to Interstate 495.
The project will provide a 26-foot-wide median that will be used by the future Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and include shared-use paths on both sides of Route 7, at-grade bike/pedestrian crossing improvements, curb-ramp upgrades and pedestrian-safety improvements.
The initiative also will improve access management between Route 123 and I-495, implement signal modifications throughout the corridor and (if approved) improve right-turn lanes from Route 123 to eastbound Route 7 and from Route 7 to southbound I-495.
The project also will convert Howard Avenue to a one-way (southbound) roadway and improve Route 7’s intersections with International Drive and Fashion Boulevard, with signals modified as needed.
The project has been long in the making and was included in roadway improvements approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2010 as part of the Tysons Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Officials subsequently approved for funding in the Tysons Funding Plan in December 2012.
The status quo did not sit still, however, and the project’s cost has risen significantly since. Based on a rough project concept, officials initially estimated the initiative would cost around $20 million.
Supervisors in December 2019 approved the Transportation Priorities Plan for fiscal years 2020-2025, which included about $28 million for the project.
But the Fairfax County Department of Transportation since has refined the project concept, added more-detailed bicycle and pedestrian amenities, and made some safety and access-management enhancements.
Those upgrades, plus much higher construction and right-of-way costs, now have boosted the estimated price tag to $78.5 million.
Based on the expected agreement, VDOT will administer construction of the proposed improvements, and will maintain them.
The agreement will include $38,545,960 in state Smart Scale funds and $40 million in local contributions.
Going toward the county’s funding portion will be $10 million in Tysons Service District funds and $5 million from road contributions made by developers Tysons-wide. The county will finance the remaining $25 million in future budget cycles.
