Here Are The Options For Relieving McLean Traffic Congestion

MCLEAN, VA — A number of options to relieve traffic congestion around McLean and Tysons were presented at a previous community meeting. Fairfax County's transportation department is seeking feedback on those options, and the deadline for comments has been extended to July 31.

The county's study identified numerous intersections with the greatest traffic concerns along the Dolley Madison Boulevard corridor. Data was collected on the average delay that vehicles experience at these intersections.

Here's what the county found for average delays:

• Dolley Madison Boulevard and Great Falls Street/Lewinsville Road: 86.7 seconds in a.m., 115.3 seconds in p.m.
• Dolley Madison Boulevard and Old Dominion Drive: 36.9 seconds in a.m., 41.4 seconds in p.m.
• Dolley Madison Boulevard and Ingleside Avenue: 2 seconds in a.m., 11 seconds in p.m.
• Balls Hill Road and Lewinsville Road: 38.6 seconds in a.m., 70.5 seconds in p.m.
• Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls Street: 35.1 seconds in a.m., 91.1 seconds in p.m.
• Old Dominion Drive and Ingleside Avenue: 1.2 seconds in a.m., 2.6 seconds in p.m.
• Lewinsville Road and Old Maple Drive/Farm Credit Drive (no data, intersection recently added to study)

Proposed improvements are divided into two categories: short-term (next 10 or more years) and long-term. Click on each concept for a visualization of the proposed improvement.

Short-term improvements

• Three continuous lanes on eastbound Dolley Madison Boulevard
  • Drivers gain another eastbound thru lane
• Three continuous lanes on eastbound Dolley Madison Boulevard through Lewinsville Road/Great Falls Street
  • Drivers gain an additional eastbound thru lane on Dolley Madison
    through the Lewinsville/Great Falls intersection
• Drivers lose the second westbound left turn lane from Dolley Madison
• Restricted left turns from Balls Hill Road and/or additional lanes on Lewinsville Road
  • This could create additional thru lane capacity on Lewinsville Road
  • This could simplify the Balls Hill/Lewinsville intersection conflicts and spacing
  • This could simplify the Balls Hill/Lewinsville intersection conflicts and spacing issues with Dolley Madison/Lewinsville
  • Traffic would be rerouted out of Balls Hill
• Dolley Madison/Old Dominion partial jughandle
  • The number of signal phases would be reduced at Old Dominion/Dolley Madison with more green light time for other movements.
    • An additional westbound thru lane at the intersection would be possible. It would drop shortly after the intersection.
• Exclusive left-turn lanes at Lewinsville Road/Great Falls Street
  • This would remove the "split phase," allowing for concurrent left turns and a more efficient traffic signal timing structure.
  • A median on Great Falls Street may be needed, which would block access to apartments.
• Three westbound travel lanes on Dolley Madison Boulevard
  • Drivers would have an additional westbound lane
  • Left-turn access would be eliminated to Mayflower Drive and Evans Farm Drive

Long-term improvements

• Interchange at Dolley Madison Boulevard/Lewinsville Road/Great Falls Street, with no changes to Dolley Madison Boulevard and Old Dominion Drive (interchange concepts could vary)
• Provide interchanges at both Dolley Madison Boulevard/Lewinsville Road/Great Falls Street and Dolley Madison Boulevard/Old Dominion Drive (interchange concepts could vary)
  • If there is support for interchanges, the transportation department would explore different types of interchanges and conducting feasibility work.

An online survey is open to the public through July 31. Once the public comment period is over, officials will choose a short-term solution to test. Another community meeting would happen before the county chooses a direction (short-term or interchange improvements) to further evaluate. See more information on the traffic study webpage.