12 Herndon Transportation Projects Included In NVTA's Long-Range Plan

HERNDON, VA — Northern Virginia Transportation Authority adopted its long-range transportation plan on Thursday. The adoption was the final step in a two-year public engagement process to prioritize transportation funding in Northern Virginia.

The TransAction plan identifies 424 multimodal projects aimed at enhancing Northern Virginia's transportation infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the region.

The projects identified in the TransAction plan account for an estimated $75 billion in potential investments through 2045.

NVTA will use the TransAction plan to inform its decisions in implementing the Six Year Program for regional revenue funding.

View a full list of projects in NVTA's updated TransAction plan.

The following 12 projects in and around Herndon are included in the TransAction plan NVTA adopted on Thursday:

• Herndon Metrorail Multimodal Improvements: This project includes a number of roadway, bicycle and pedestrian improvements around the Herndon Metrorail Station. These include construction of an extension to the Folly Lick Trail and Van Buren Street to the station; continue improvements on the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park within town limits; build an extension of the Sugarland Run Trail to provide pedestrian access to the station; construct missing regional links in the Folly Lick Trail Regional Trail to connect it with the station and the W&OD Trail; reconstruct Herndon Parkway to include new intersection signalization, wide sidewalks, and bus enhancements; and reconstruct Van Buren Street between New Spring Street and town limits, adding new intersection signalization and other improvements to enhance on- and off-street bicycle/pedestrian improvements from downtown to the Metrorail station.
• Herndon Bikesharing Services: Introduce and expand bikesharing services in Herndon in coordination to the county's regional system.
• Centreville Road Widening: Widen Centreville Road/Route 657 to six lanes between Herndon Parkway and Walney Road.
• Fairfax County Parkway Priority Express Bus Service: Implement enhanced bus service along the Fairfax County Parkway between the Herndon Metrorail Station and Fort Belvoir.
• Old Ox Road Widening: Widen Old Ox Road/Route 606 to six lanes between Route 28/Sully Road and the Fairfax County line/Herndon town limits.
• South Elden Street Reconstruction: Reconstruct Sterling Road between Elden Street and Sterling Road.
• Sterling Road Reconstruction: Reconstruct Sterling Road between Elden Street and Rock Hill Road.
• Worldgate Drive Extension: Construct an extension of Worldgate Drive from Van Buren Street to the Herndon Parkway with two lanes in each direction.
• W&OD Regional Trail Capacity and Connectivity Enhancements: This multi-jurisdictional project will improve capacity at multiple sites along the W&OD Trail. The project will follow models already implemented in Falls Church and Arlington County via previous NVTA funding. Improvements will include widening of the W&OD Trail, the addition of parallel trails, and the enhanced connectivity to other regional trails and nearby transit. The scope of this project not not only includes the Town of Herndon, but sites within the Town of Vienna, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Reston, Loudoun County, and the Town of Leesburg.
• Fairbrook Drive Extension: Improve roadway capacity and signalization by linking a new Herndon Parkway/Fairbrook Drive extension.
• East Spring Street Improvements: This project includes construction of a new signalized East Spring Street/Fairbrook Drive intersection with a reconstructed, southbound on-ramp from East Spring Street to the center of southbound Fairfax County Parkway.
• East Elden Street Improvements: This project would include widening East Elden Street from Herndon Parkway to town limits. In addition, improvements would be added to the Fairfax County Parkway interchange ramp at East Elden Street and Baron Cameron Avenue.

For the first time, NVTA included a seamlessly connected Bus Rapid Transit system across the region in its long-range plan. Local BRT would fill the gaps between the region's existing transit systems, such as Metrorail and the Virginia Railway Express.

By 2045, the Northern Virginia region is expected to grow by 23 percent to 3.14 million, and employment is expected to grow by 33 percent to 1.94 million, according to a release. NVTA deemed investments in a multimodal transportation network to be an essential part of its final plan if it was to meet the needs of this projected expansion.