A multimillion-dollar transportation plan will bring new bike lanes, better lighting and miles of new sidewalks to Northern Virginia.
The $7.2 million plan, which will focus on small-scale, non-highway transportation projects, was approved by the National Capital-Region Transportation Planning Board on Wednesday.
The money will target eight roadway projects over the next decade. Upgrades include the following:
- A $316,579 project to improve pedestrian safety in the Clifton Historic District, by adding new sidewalks, crosswalks, signage, landscaping, and lighting to a stretch of Main Street.
- A $914,745 project that aims to add a mixture of “super sharrows” (shared lane markings) and on-road bicycle lanes, helping to create a multimodal spine through Old Town Fairfax.
- An $800,000 project that will construct a shared-use path, two-way cycle track, and sidewalk from Blake Lane to the Vienna Metro Interstate 66 westbound ramp, in an aim to increase connectivity with nearby Oakton High School.
- An $800,000 project designed to add three new crosswalks, with sidewalk or shared use path connections, serving Shrevewood Elementary School and the W&OD Trail.
- An $800,000 project to finish the construction of about 1,000 feet of sidewalk along the west side of Plaza Street, completing a missing link in the Town of Leesburg’s sidewalk system.
- A $1,300,000 project to design and construct 0.56 miles of missing sidewalk links along Sterling Boulevard, providing a direct connection to the W&OD Trail in Loudoun County.
- A $719,534 project to connect residents of the Forest Glen estates housing community with a church, grocery store, medical clinic, and more at the Hoadly Marketplace commercial development in Prince William County.
The most expensive project in the plan will add a missing link of sidewalk on the east side of Old Carolina Road in Prince William County. The planning board earmarked more than $1.5 million for that project.
.@NatCapRegTPB approves eight Northern Virginia bicycle and pedestrian projects for $7.2M in federal funding: https://t.co/iPrPLjAK5T pic.twitter.com/dLSBCb3JGE
— COG (@MWCOG) February 16, 2022
Most of the upgrades will lead bikers and walkers to the National Capital Trail Network, a 1,400-mile system of trails that will connect the Northern Virginia region once it’s completed.
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