Rolling Road Widening Part Of Funded NoVA Transportation Projects

WEST SPRINGFIELD, VA — Fairfax County's Rolling Road widening project in West Springfield will receive 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 41 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. The Rolling Road project was among 17 fully-funded projects, which have sufficient funds to advance to construction. The remaining partially-funded projects 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 the full list of 21 approved projects funded by the authority and project descriptions.

NVTA funding for the Rolling Road project will widen it from two to four lanes between Hunter Village Drive and Old Keene Mill Road. The county aims to reduce congestion, improve safety for all users, improve access to east and west points, and provide continuity from the north and south directions.

The project also includes:

• Constructing a median on Rolling Road between Viola Street and Kenwood Avenue
• Constructing dedicated left turn lanes at major intersections
• Constructing an additional northbound left turn lane at the Old Keene Mill Road intersection
• Installing a traffic signal at the intersection of Rolling Road at Greeley Boulevard
• Providing storm-water management facilities; and installing a shared-use path

According to the project milestone timeline, design, engineering and environmental work happened from 2017 to 2019, followed by right-of-way acquisition from 2018 to 2020. Construction will happen through fiscal year 2024.

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. A Braddock Road Corridor project between Guinea Road to Ravensworth Road was submitted but did not receive NVTA funding.

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.