Earlier this month, according to ffxnow reporting, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) approved adding a proposed trail link to the Vienna Metro Station to six other projects recommended for I-66 Commuter Choice funding.
Fairfax County is requesting $2.2 million to build a nearly 1-mile segment of the I-66 Trail segment between the interstate’s Nutley Street interchange and Blake Lane in Oakton. NVTC says the project could now be fully funded with $1.4 million that has been freed up by “a pending project closeout” on top of $1 million in “remaining revenue that staff had already identified” for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1 and ends on June 30, 2023.
According to a staff report, the commission received and was influenced by positive public comments about the trail from an online survey.
The trail will consist of a 5,000-foot-long cycle track and sidewalk along Country Creek Road/Virginia Center Boulevard between Sutton Road and the ramp to westbound I-66. It then will become a 10-foot-wide, paved shared-use path along Sutton Road between Country Creek Road and Blake Lane. FABB has been actively working with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) on the design and sponsored an information meeting on this project in July 2021.
Construction on the cycle track and path is not expected to start until late 2024, but VDOT is planning interim amenities for bicyclists and pedestrians this year.
Want to help FABB maintain the momentum for bicycle advocacy? Contact us at [email protected].
