Herndon Parkway Improvements In Transportation Authority's 6-Year Plan

HERNDON, VA — Herndon Parkway improvements at the Worldgate Drive Extension has funding in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's latest six-year program, which was approved Thursday.

The Fiscal Years 2022-2027 Six Year Program funds regional multimodal transportation projects in Northern Virginia through regional revenues. The program provides nearly $625 million in funding to 20 projects.

This was the sixth time the authority has updated its six-year plan to prioritize and fund regional transportation projects. For the latest plan update, nine localities in Northern Virginia submitted 26 proposed projects totaling over $1.2 billion. Committees recommended 20 of these projects for the 2022-2027 six-year funding plan, and over 1,600 public comments were received from April 15 to May 22. The six-year program is updated every two years.

"Most people when they're driving, they don't know when they leave when they're leaving Loudoun County and driving into the Fairfax County or leaving Arlington and driving into Alexandria," said Phyllis Randall, chair of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. "That's why the authority is so important to do multimodal transportation options and focus on congestion relief built up to cost in the Northern Virginia area, because the Northern Virginia area is such an important part of the Commonwealth."

The entire Herndon Parkway and Worldgate Drive Extension Project is expected to cost $6,536,000.

NVTA provided the Town of Herndon with the full amount of its request of $4,581,000 for multimodal improvements near the Herndon Metrorail Station. These improvements include new signalization at Herndon Parkway and the Worldgate Drive Extension.

"The improvements include LED traffic/bike/pedestrian signalization, dedicated turning lane capacity improvements, street-lighting, cycle tracks, ADA curb cuts/sidewalks, and paver crosswalks," according to the project description. "The pedestrian crossings and improved traffic flow will provide additional safety measures for motorized and non-motorized traffic modes."

While the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's main goal in prioritizing projects is addressing traffic congestion, part of that strategy is through funding multimodal projects. The six-year plan includes funding for transit, bike and pedestrian, and transportation technology projects, while most roadway projects also have a pedestrian and bicyclist component.

"We have rail, we have buses, we have roads, we have bike paths, we have bus rapid transit projects, because as I always say in Northern Virginia, there is no one-size-fits-all solution," said Backmon. "There is no single mode that really taps into our congestion issues."

Through its latest six-year plan and five previous ones, the authority is helping Northern Virginia localities advance 122 regional multimodal transportation projects, totaling nearly $3.12 billion, for congestion reduction throughout the region.

The 20 projects included in the six-year plan are:

• Arlington County: Ballston-MU Metrorail Station West Entrance: $80,000,000
• Fairfax County: Fairfax County Parkway Widening: Nomes Court to Route 123: $108,000,000
• Fairfax County: 8 New Battery Electric Buses - Fairfax Connector Buses for Tysons to Franconia Service: $10,000,000
• Fairfax County: Richmond Highway Widening From Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway/Jeff Todd Way to Sherwood Hall Lane: $60,207,038
• Fairfax County: Richmond Highway (Route 1) BRT: $80,000,000
• Fairfax County: Soapstone Drive Extension: Sunset Hills Road to Sunrise Valley Drive: $73,793,037
• Fairfax County: Seven Corners Ring Road Improvements: Arlington Boulevard (Route 50)Westbound Ramp to Castle Place/Sleepy Hollow Road: $4,200,000 (request partially funded)
• Loudoun County: Route 7 Corridor ITS Implementation Program: $2,500,000
• Loudoun County: Route 7 Improvements: Route 9 to Dulles Greenway: $20,000,000
• Loudoun County: Ryan Road Widening (Phase 2): Evergreen Mills Road to Beaverdam Drive: $16,000,000
• Loudoun County: Loudoun County Parkway Interchange at US 50: $35,250,000
• Prince William County: University Boulevard Extension: Devlin Road to Wellington Road: $53,000,000
• Prince William County: Old Bridge Road Widening: Colby Drive to Minnieville Road: $25,000,000
• Prince William County: Van Buren Road North Extension: Route 234 to Cardinal Drive: $8,000,000 (request partially funded)
• Prince William County: Route 1 at Route 123 Interchange: $3,000,000 (request partially funded)
• City of Alexandria: West End Transitway Phase 1b: South Van Dorn Street and Bridge Design: $5,000,000
• City of Alexandria: Alexandria Bike and Pedestrian Trails Construction and Reconstruction: Holmes Run Trail - Dora Kelly Fair-weather Crossing Bridge: $5,000,000
• City of Falls Church: North Washington Street Multimodal Improvements Project: Great FallsStreet to Gresham Place: $22,500,000
• City of Manassas: Liberia Avenue 3rd Lane Eastbound: Route 28 to Euclid Avenue: $8,851,639
• Town of Herndon: Herndon Parkway Improvements at Worldgate Drive Extension: $4,581,000

Patch editor Emily Leayman assisted in the reporting on this story.