The first section of the 66 Parallel Trail is available for people to enjoy. Once complete, the new shared-use path will span 11 miles in Fairfax County, Virginia.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Vienna-Fairfax/GMU Metrorail Station on Wednesday, next to the new 18-mile trail which is planned to stretch into neighboring Prince William County.
The initial four miles connects Cedar Lane to Chain Bridge Road, providing pedestrian and bicycle access between Vienna and Oakton. The entire trail, expected to be completed later this summer, will extend from Dunn Loring to Centreville, according to I-66 Express Mobility Partners (EMP).
Because residents in the area did not want the trail built along their backyards, three of the newly opened miles of trail rest between a four- to 5-foot-high concrete soundwall and vehicle traffic, exposing users to noise and pollution and vehicles along Interstate 66.
EMP, which operates the 66 Express Outside the Beltway lanes, is funding the trail’s construction as part of VDOT’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project. The trail will provide a total of 18 miles of new sidewalk and trail along and near I-66, once complete.
We’re @United4Infra! In time for #InfrastructureWeek, the 66 Parallel Trail is open! Part of the #multimodal #Transform66 project & another great travel option in #FairfaxCounty! The #66Express #OutsideTheBeltway moves people, not just cars. #Transportation #InfrastructureWorks pic.twitter.com/OjnebEHT4T
— ride66express (@ride66express) May 17, 2023
“We’ve often said that the Transform 66 Project is about much more than keeping cars and trucks moving. It’s about keeping people moving,” said Luis Vazquez, I-66 EMP’s CEO.
He called the 10-foot-wide trail a “unique component of our multi-modal transportation project” and a “great representation of the transformative infrastructure now available to travelers all along the I-66 corridor.”
A map of the trail is below.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
