VDOT plans Route 50/Manchester intersection improvements
The Virginia Department of Transportation is planning intersection improvements on Arlington Boulevard at Manchester Street in the Seven Corners area.
The improvements include:
- Extending the westbound Route 50 left-turn lane to southbound Manchester Street from 230 feet to 500 feet.
- Extending the eastbound Route 50 left-turn lane to northbound Manchester Street from 75 feet to 175 feet.
- Minimal widening along eastbound Arlington Boulevard just beyond the Manchester Street intersection. This might affect existing utilities, trees, and a slope – possibly requiring a retaining wall.
VDOT invites the community to a virtual meeting on this project on Feb. 10, 7-8:30 p.m. Register for the meeting here.
To listen to the meeting without registering, call 631-992-3221. The access code is 629-400-234. Comments can be submitted to [email protected]. Use “Route 50 Left-Turn Lane Extensions at Manchester Street” in the subject line.
The intersection is in Arlington County just across the border from Fairfax County.
According to VDOT, extending the eastbound and westbound Route 50 left-turn lanes would minimize the potential for left turns extending out of the left-turn lane. It would also minimize the potential for through-vehicles blocking access to the left-turn lane.
A public hearing on the design will be scheduled in late 2025. Right-of-way acquisition would begin in early 2027. Utility relocation would start in late 2027, and construction would begin in mid-2029.
The estimated cost of the project is $3.9 million. Funding comes from federal and state sources, including Smart Scale.
The improvements are based on recommendations from a 2022 STARS study of the Manchester Street intersection. STARS (Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions) is a VDOT program that develops comprehensive, cost-effective multimodal transportation improvements to address congestion and safety challenges.
2 responses to “VDOT plans Route 50/Manchester intersection improvements”
Leave a reply
Great, and well overdue. I would like to see them also address severe backups that occur at manchester st, and to extend the green light times on manchester street.
While looking at that stretch of 50, why isn’t there a left turn light at that one annoying intersection on eastbound 50 with the side street to the left and Olin Drive to the right?
Going eastbound on 50, the traffic between 7 corners and Manchester St is awful because everyone is trying to change lanes. People coming out from near Giant and wanting to cut across to go North on Patrick Henry, stopping across lanes of traffic, just for you to finally get past them in the middle or right lane and get cut off by someone dodging a car trying to make a left turn at that service road/Olin Dr. intersection.
Just put a left turn light there. Please. Delay the green for westbound by 10-15 seconds. It’d probably be enough to clear out the cars holding traffic up when it’s congested, making traffic flow better in all 3 lanes through the stretch. If the light is long enough, it might get Northbound Manchester St people to get off 50 a little earlier and take the side street to get to their neighborhood?
How expensive would it be to repaint that lane as straight or left turn, replace the light with one including a green arrow and have VDOT change the timing of the light to give eastbound a 10 second start? A lot less than 3.9 million. It’d make the left lane usable again on 50 eastbound from 7 corners to Manchester St.