Funding requested for Seven Corners intersection improvements
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is seeking public comments on 24 projects, including the Seven Corners ring road.
The projects were proposed by nine jurisdictions vying to have their priorities included in the NVTA’s six-year regional plan for FY 2024-29.
Comments on individual projects can be submitted until May 19. After the public engagement process, NVTA staff and committees will their recommendations on the projects and the agency would then approve the final six-year plan.
Funding for all 24 projects totals nearly $1 billion. Fairfax County submitted four candidates for funding totaling $587.2 million:
- Seven Corners ring road improvements – $122.2 million.
- Braddock Road multimodal improvements, Phase II, between Humphries Drive and Southampton Drive – $90 million.
- Route 7 multimodal improvements between I-495 and I-66 – $210 million.
- Frontier Drive extension and intersection improvements – $168 million.
The ring road project consists of road improvements to address congestion around the intersection of Leesburg Pike, Arlington Boulevard, and Wilson Boulevard.
Related story: County seeks more funding for Seven Corners ring road
The funds requested from the NVTA would support the design, engineering, and environmental phase; right-of-way; utilities relocation; and construction.
The NVTA had denied Fairfax County’s request in 2022 to fully fund the ring road and instead allocated just $4.2 million for project planning. Another $6.3 million has been committed from other sources. The total cost of the ring road is estimated at $132.7 million.
The Seven Corners Phasing Study, prepared for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, was completed in June 2023.
Projects submitted to the NVTA by the other localities address transit, transportation technology, road improvements, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure upgrades.
Seems that additional overpasses and tunnels are needed.
Patrick Henry Drive, Olin , graham Road all need to be tunneled. From 7 corners to 495 there are too many cuts, crossovers. The whole priject needs to be reimagined for what’s it’s going to be like 75 years from now the current plan is already obsolete
Stop talking about 7 corners and get the shovels out. The last completion date for the entire project was 2045! Bring the Chinese over to give us a coherent design and construction plan
NEVAH! In Falls Church.
An essential part of the Seven Corners road project should be to add a multi-story parking garage to the East Falls Church Metro stop. Replace the current stree-level parking to add hundreds of more spaces for area residents’ use.
Good idea!
Yes, a good idea to build a multi-level garage at East Falls Church Metro parking. Lot fills up fast even with ‘remote working’.
The ring road needs to be built also at Seven Corners. That and an educational campaign to teach people how to safely navigate around a large, multilane traffic circle. It works fine in Iceland as people follow the rules. I’ve seen it NOT work well in the U.S. as people don’t understand what “Yield” means.