Soapstone Road Extension Part Of Funded NoVA Projects

RESTON, VA — The Soapstone Drive Extension Project will receive partial funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) as part of its six-year, fiscal year 2020-2025 program. On Thursday, the NVTA approved 21 of 14 projects requested by 13 Northern Virginia localities and agencies.

Despite an estimated $240 million net revenue loss for the six-year program during the pandemic, the authority provided $539 million in funding for the 21 projects. Reston's Soapstone Drive Extension Project was among three partially-funded projects, which can advance to the early phases of project development but not necessarily completion.

Localities with approved projects include Arlington County, City of Alexandria, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, and Town of Dumfries. Projects were also approved for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, NOVA Parks, and Virginia Railway Express.

"The adoption of the Six Year Program Update demonstrates an ongoing commitment to a multimodal approach that addresses Northern Virginians' mobility needs and challenges, and supports the region's economic vitality, while providing an economic stimulus to the region's economy," said Phyllis Randall, chair of the authority and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

The authority's main purposes is to update Northern Virginia's long-range transportation plan, as well as prioritize and fund transportation projects to provide congestion relief. In 2013, a Virginia law established dedicated funding for Northern Virginia transportation projects for the authority to carry out its work. Membership is made up of nine Northern Virginia localities: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

See full list of the 21 projects funded by the authority here.

NVTA Funding for Reston's project will go toward extending a new one-half mile roadway between Sunrise Valley Drive and Sunset Hills Road. This project, which is located just west of the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station, would include a new bridge over the Dulles Corridor. The new road would be an extension of Soapstone Drive, from where it intersects Sunrise Valley Drive to where it would connect with Sunset Hills Road, after crossing over the Dulles Access Road. The new road would provide an additional crossing over the Dulles Corridor and help to reduce congestion at intersections along Wiehle Avenue and improve traffic flow in the surrounding area.

According to the project milestone timeline, design, engineering and environmental work would happen through fiscal year 2025. Right-of-way acquisition would happen in fiscal years 2025 and 2027, and construction would take place from fiscal years 2028 to 2030.

The authority put out a call for regional transportation projects in July 2019. Over 41 projects were reviewed, and around 1,000 public comments have come in during the process. According to the authority's executive director Monica Backmon, 85 percent of comments were focused on four approved projects: Arlington W&OD Trail Enhancements, Downtown Falls Church Multimodal Improvements, West Falls Church Access to Transit and Multimodal Connectivity, and Van Buren Road North Extension: Route 234 to Cardinal Drive.

With the new funding program and four previous programs, the authority is advancing 106 regional transportation projects. The projects, totaling almost $2.5 billion, are aimed at reducing congestion in the region.

Patch editor Emily Leayman contributed to the reporting of this story.