Supervisors approve bicycling improvements for Little River Turnpike
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| An illustration from the cover of the Little River Turnpike Corridor Study published in February. |
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on July 25 endorsed a list of recommended projects to improve bicycle and pedestrian access that were recommended by the Little River Turnpike Corridor Study.
The cost of all the projects, $6.2 million, would be funded from the county’s Transportation Priorities Plan for fiscal years 2015-20, which was approved by the BoS in 2014.
The short and long-term projects are aimed at improving connectivity and safety for bicyclists along a seven-mile stretch of Route 236 through Annandale between the City of Fairfax and the City of Alexandria. The study also includes improvements for pedestrians, such as shared-use paths, median refuge areas, and crosswalks.
Officials from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation discussed the proposed improvements at a public meeting in May 2016.
Here’s the list of approved projects for the south (eastbound) side of Little River Turnpike:
• Wakefield Chapel Road to Lake Drive – Remove channelized right-turn lane and replace it with a traditional dedicated right-turn lane. Install high-visibility crosswalks and new ramps at the intersection that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – $811,331.
• Lake Drive to Duncan Drive – Install a shared-use path along the existing shoulder; install a sidewalk from the new shared-use path to the existing bus stop; remove the splitter island; and upgrade ramps and crosswalks – $995,363.
• Duncan Drive to Woodlark Drive – Install a shared-use path along the existing shoulder; remove the splitter island; and upgrade ramps and crosswalks – $941,820.
• Woodlark Drive to Pineridge Drive – Install a shared-use path along the existing shoulder and install a sidewalk from the new shared-use path to the existing bus stop. Remove the splitter island. Upgrade ramps and crosswalks. Create a transition from the shared-use path to the existing frontage road with an ADA-compliant ramp, signage, and sharrows (street markings indicating the road is shared with bicyclists) – $565,472.
• Pineridge Drive to 1-495 ramps – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the roadway – $6,726.
• Interstate-495 ramps – Relocate the crossing to improve safety for trail users and install rapid flashing pedestrian beacons and pedestrian crossing warning signs – $453,845.
• 1-495 ramps to Woodland Road – Widen the existing sidewalk to 10 feet and install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road. Install wayfinding signage. Upgrade crosswalks – $364,627.
• Woodland Road to Medford Drive – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road. $9,602.
• Medford Drive to Backlick Road – Add shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road and wayfinding signage – $9,655.
• Backlick Road to John Marr Drive – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road and wayfinding signage – $9,478.
• John Marr Drive to Hillbrook Drive – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road and wayfinding signage. Widen the existing sidewalk to 10 feet to create a shared-use path. Upgrade the ramps and crosswalk – $237,326.
• Hillbrook Drive to Roberts Avenue – Install wayfinding signage – $2,416.
• Roberts Avenue to Pinecrest Parkway – Install shared lane markings on the frontage road. Move the high visibility crosswalk to accommodate a pedestrian island. Add a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) beacon – $291,465.
Projects for the western (northbound) side of Little River Turnpike:
• Wakefield Chapel Road to Lake Drive – Shorten the existing turn lane to accommodate a new shared-use path. Create a transition from the shared-use path to the existing frontage road with an ADA-compliant ramp, signage, and sharrows – $197,302.
• Pineridge Drive to 1-495 ramps – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road and install a 10-foot shared-use path connecting the frontage road with the Cross County Trail – $466,218.
• I-495 ramps – Relocate the crossing to improve safety of trail users and install rapid flashing pedestrian beacons and pedestrian crossing warning signs – $498,181.
• 1-495 ramps to Woodland Road – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road. Install new curbs and gutters – $21,333.
• Woodland Road to Medford Drive – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road and new curbs and gutters – $9,735.
• Medford Drive to Backlick Road – Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road – $10,443.
• Backlick Road to John Marr Drive – Install wayfinding signage. Add a bicycle queue box to aid turning movements. Upgrade the ADA ramps on both corners – $6,804.
• Roberts Avenue to Pinecrest Parkway – Provide wayfinding directing cyclists to and from the controlled sidewalk. Provide ADA ramps on both sides of the frontage road to connect to proposed pedestrian facilities – $6,403.
• Pinecrest Parkway to Old Columbia Pike – Construct a connection between the intersection and frontage road. Install shared-lane pavement markings along the frontage road. Upgrade crosswalks and ramps – $67,892.
Projects for adjacent roads:
• Heritage Drive from Little River Turnpike to Heritage Woods Way – Option A: Narrow or remove the median to extend existing bike lanes. Option B: Widen the existing sidewalk to make it a 10-foot shared-use path. Add a ramp for the transition from bike lane to shared-use path –$472,278 for option B.
• John Marr Drive from Little River Turnpike to Backlick Road – Repave and restripe the roadway to add bike lanes. Install a high visibility crosswalk – $270,463.