Earlier this week, Virginia officials celebrated the completion of the U.S. Route 1 widening project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, in cooperation with Fairfax County, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir, and the Virginia Department of Transportation implemented the approximately 3.6-mile-long road improvement project between Jeff Todd Way and Telegraph Road.

 

“Today’s celebration marks a significant milestone in our collaborative efforts to improve our transportation infrastructure,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova. “This sets the stage to making revitalization happen. We are taking great strides to move people more efficiently, further reduce congestion, and provide more travel options to support future growth along the Richmond Highway corridor. Largely due to Congressman Jim Moran securing $180 million in federal funding for this project, Richmond Highway commuters now have improved access from I-95 and the Fairfax County Parkway to Fort Belvoir and its state-of-the-art hospital,” said Chairman Bulova.

 

The funds were awarded to Fairfax County by the U.S. Office of Economic Adjustment within the Department of Defense in 2011. The project included widening the corridor from four to six lanes; signalization upgrades; new turn lanes; safe and convenient bicycle and pedestrian connections; and accommodations for future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which will connect Fort Belvoir to the Huntington Metrorail station.

 

“I believe the core of our celebration today is to recognize how working together benefits the community,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Daniel G. Storck. “By investing in infrastructure that supports multi-modal connectivity, we significantly improve safe and convenient access to jobs and the quality of life for our residents.”

 

The project also included mitigation for numerous adjacent cultural and natural resources, and cross-agency collaboration enabled the preservation of the historic nature of the corridor, while allowing for future growth and development.

 

“Our continued revitalization has created a need for infrastructure growth, and this project will fulfill that need by reducing congestion and creating more travel options for commuters,” said Jeff McKay, Lee District supervisor. “It was critical we added travel options, which is what this project did for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars, as well as adding future dedicated medians for bus rapid transit and possible rail facilities in the future. I’m proud to have worked together with all the different agencies and elected officials involved to get our community’s need addressed.”

 

Preliminary engineering and environmental studies for the projects began in 2011, and construction work was kicked-off in June of 2013. The roadway, trail and sidewalk improvements fully opened to the public on June 15, 2017, and full project completion is scheduled for the fall of 2017.