Seven Corners Phasing Study prepares for ring road around congested intersection
A new ring road around the congested Seven Corners interchange will allow the traffic to move through the area more efficiently, said Tom Biesiadny, director of the Fairfax County Transportation Department at a Nov. 16 virtual community meeting on the Seven Corners Phasing Study.
It will also make the intersection of Arlington Boulevard (Route 50), Leesburg Pike (Route 7), and Wilson Boulevard more pedestrian and bike-friendly.
The ring road isn’t expected to be completed until 2045, said Nanditha Paradkar, director of the Seven Corners Phasing Study.
Construction of the first phase of the ring road (identified as Scenario 1 in the Phasing Study) would start in 2030. That covers the section of the ring road west of the intersection between Route 7 and Hillwood Avenue.
FCDOT is seeking input from the community on the order in which the elements of the ring road should be constructed.
Scenario 1 includes these elements:
- The ring road on the west side of the Seven Corners interchange will be four lanes with turn lanes and a median.
- There will be cycle tracks and sidewalks.
- The Hillwood Avenue connection will be adjusted.
- The ramps to and from Route 50 west will be slightly adjusted.
Under Scenario 2, to be constructed after Scenario 1:
- A new access road would connect Castle Place and Thorne Road to Wilson Boulevard with an overpass over Route 50 west of Patrick Henry Drive.
- The new segment will include new bus facilities.
- The Seven Corners Transit Center would be moved further west on Route 50 by Thorne Road.
- There will be new and adjusted ramps to and from Route 50 on the east.
Both scenarios call for new crosswalks, filled-in sidewalk gaps, and bicycle facilities connected to neighborhoods.
The Phasing Study is expected to be completed in spring 2022. Next steps call for more detailed traffic analyses, cost estimates, identifying impacts on property owners, and determining funding sources.
The ring road concept was included in a comprehensive plan amendment for redevelopment in Seven Corners that was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2015.
Community residents are encouraged to take a survey on the Phasing Study.
the first phase…2030 with completion in 2045. What. A. Joke.
In 14 years most of the people who are planning this will be long retired and a large chunk of the neighbors commenting on this will be long gone.
Mason district always gets the shaft. Always.
If this isn’t completed until 2045 it will be obsolete. Do it all at once! Get the pain once and done.
What a waste of time and money. Seriously, you would think they were planning a Mars landing. Starting in 2030? And it will take 15 years to complete? The Wilson Bridge was completed in less time. We could dig tunnels under Route 7 and Route 50 in less time. We may have flying cars by then. Beurocracy at its worst.
Actually, SpaceX is going land humans on Mars long before this even starts. Starship has already successfully landed in Earths gravity and they have the super heavy launch stack ready for the first orbital test of a completely reusable space craft. All they are waiting on is government approval.
These people want to rebuild an intersection – and it is going to take 25 years?
Phew. I'll be retired or dead before I have to deal with the construction mess. Seems like a long, dragged out project.
This is a joke, right? 2045?
I agree with others that the timeline on this is way too conservative. This concept was proposed in 2015 as a potential solution to 7 corners traffic woes, and this timeline would mean a wait of 30 years for those woes to be addressed. That’s not ok.
We just passed a 1.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill, one of the most historic influxes of money to address infrastructure ever. Billions of that money is heading to VA. It will be very unfortunate if an opportunity is not found to accelerate these timelines. The Ring Road timeline should at least match Rt 7 BRT which is scheduled for early 2030s.
Only $110 million of the 1.2 trillion is earmarked for transportation improvements like this. Vying for those funds are 20% of roads in the US rated as ‘poor,’ along with 4,500 bridges. Virginia is unlikely to get billions from that relatively small pot of money. Not to detract from the sentiment that this project’s schedule is not very ambitious, but just pointing out that there’s not going to be a bunch of money to throw at it based. These numbers are directly from the White House press release.
Board of Supervisors. This is all about optics for you. Where is the logic? Perhaps this extended plan is a place holder for future monies?
L – O – L.
I'd be less insulted if they burned our money in piles on local t.v.
Hopefully things like this will make the voters realize that we need to make some changes. By almost always voting Democrat only, the electorate has naively given the BOS the power to do whatever they want. The BOS knows that the chances of them being voted out is slim since the majority votes blue. Perhaps the latest election should be a wake-up call. Although the Republicans did not "win" NOVA and other blue-leaning areas, enough people in those areas voted Republican which enabled them to win. Without the disenfranchised voters in these areas, they would not have been able to win the states top 3 positions. It is time for us to send a message to our local leaders that the same could be in store for them if they don't start representing their electorate.
We have no one to blame but ourselves. The requirements put in place to meet citizen needs are extensive. It had been years since the County proposed the Sleepy Hollow sidewalk and homeowners along that route have delayed a relatively simple concept by first forcing the design to move in and out of the existing right of way to accommodate individual property owner concerns. Once that was finally resolved, the County had to pursue eminent domain piece by piece. This is a sidewalk that moves people very efficiently. But because some don't want it, well, it adds years to the project. Imagine the time required to finalize the ring road route, deal with dozens of landowners – including some who may not want the new road – and THEN go through eminent domain.
In addition, this is an incredibly complicated process involving 7 roads, multiple bridges, three jurisdictions (counting nearby Arlington) that will still have to be planned, engineered, phased, and then completed according to 2021 design expectations. All of this while not shutting down any of the roadways (there are really no easy detours here) and maintaining traffic flow for the time it takes. The County can't just build on greenfield land… there are businesses and users everywhere you move.
Finally, in spite of a 1.2 trillion infrastructure deal, there is a lot of pent-up demand for those bucks. This County is pretty cheap – commentators on this blog regularly complain about the services they want to be covered by the taxes they don't want to pay or have increased. Thus, the departments working on this project have to envision years of pressure to cheapen the project. You want it built fast? Pony up.
I say all of this while not actually supporting the project – it seems to be predicated on of norms of traffic counting and a desire for no one ever to have to stop anytime at a stoplight for more than 30 seconds. Also, it will create a very large impervious surface that will potentially harm the environment. But we should at least acknowledge that we have a system that is set up to deal with our demands. Pogo was right.
Not asking for this all to happen tomorrow, James. But it is reasonable for the multi-year gaps that occur between phases of “study” on this project to be reduced. Is it not reasonable to ask for a road that was first proposed in 2015 to see its first phase in early 2030s? That’s 15 years of planning and fundraising!!! The sleepy hollow walkway project you mention has been under way for less than 5 years and I believe is scheduled to begin construction next year.
The infrastructure deal will supply significant money to the Rt 1 project – hopefully that is money that NVTC can now spend on projects like this, in addition to a restoral of NVTC funding from the metro raid. (my apologies if I’m mixing up agencies or acronyms here).
You talk about the system and process. If our system and process is only designed to deliver part of a <1 mile road 30 years after it was proposed, then there is something very wrong.
Regarding your idea of “not having to spend 30 seconds at a light”… that’s so far off it’s laughable. 7 corners backups regularly mean up to 5 minute delays for hundreds of cars. I have personally sat through 3+ light cycles due to cars blocking the box during rush hour. A fire truck entering the intersection (a regular occurrence) can lead to a ~90 second delay. It is a routine occurrence for me and others who live near the intersection. Perhaps you are not as in tune with the problem because you live on the other end of the district near Lincolnia, but if you presume to care about the environment, you should support these improvements, which build in support for multi-modal transit (BRT, bike lanes, and pedestrian facilities) as well as keeping vehicles moving.