Fairfax City Transit Projects Receive $14.4M In NVTA Funding

FAIRFAX, VA — Four transportation projects in the city of Fairfax 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 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. The four Fairfax City projects will receive $14.4 million in funding, including $8 million for multimodal improvements to Old Lee Highway.

Other localities in Northern Virginia with approved projects include Arlington County, city of Alexandria, 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.

In Fairfax City, the $8 million project will convert Old Lee Highway into a regional multimodal corridor connecting the city with George Mason University to the south and Fairfax County and the Vienna Metro station to the north.

This project is located on the existing corridor of Old Lee Highway connecting Old Town Fairfax to Fairfax Circle at Route 50 and Route 29. The project will make improvements from Layton Hall Drive to Ridge Avenue to provide multimodal facilities on both sides of Old Lee Highway, including a separate bicycle lane, a shared-use path and bus stops.

The Old Lee Highway corridor is home to three schools, a major city park, the Civil War Interpretive Center at Historic Blenheim, the city’s Sherwood Community Center, the city's police station headquarters and multiple residential neighborhoods.

The roadway is two lanes and carries about 13,000 vehicles per day.

The $3.5 million Government Center Parkway Extension project will create a new vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle connection between Waples Mill Road and Jermantown Road. The new roadway will extend the existing portion of Government Center Parkway from Fairfax County into the city of Fairfax, connecting several existing residential and commercial areas.

See the full list of 21 approved projects funded by the authority and project descriptions.

The project includes construction of a three-lane road with a center median, turn lanes, concrete sidewalks and on-road bicycle lanes. The funding requested from NVTA is the last money needed to complete the construction funding for this project. The city has already completed the design and was awaiting final funding before proceeding on the project.

This $2.2 million Northfax project will include about 700 feet of new roadway between Fairfax Boulevard/Farr Avenue and Orchard Street to create a grid network within the northwest quadrant of Fairfax Blvd/Chain Bridge Road. By providing an expanded grid within this Northfax area, the city hopes to reduce congestion at the Route 123/50/29 intersection and adjacent intersections, provide an expanded motorized and non-motorized network, and provide local access to existing commercial properties and future mixed-use redevelopment areas.

The city also received $700,000 in funding for its Jermantown Road/Route 29 Intersection Improvements. The project will include multimodal improvements at the intersection of Lee Highway/Route 29 and Jermantown Road in Fairfax. The scope of work includes higher visibility signals and improved pedestrian. The project is expected to improve vehicle traffic flow.

NVTA 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.

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.