Construction is expected to start next month to make changes to a Fairfax County, Virginia, intersection that could improve commute times and make the road safer.
In a news release, the Virginia Department of Transportation said it has given a $49 million contract to Roanoke-based construction company Branch Civil to replace the traffic signal at Fairfax County Parkway and Popes Head Road.
Instead, the interchange will have three roundabouts that the agency said “will allow traffic to flow freely via two new bridges over Fairfax County Parkway.”
An informational meeting for drivers and residents is being planned for January, VDOT said, with the project scheduled to be completed in late 2026.
FFXNow first reported details of the project.
Dave Dildine in the WTOP Traffic Center said “lots of crashes happen at those stoplights.”
“About five miles of the parkway is controlled access between Route 50 and Popes Head [Road], so this should move southbound traffic a little more efficiently,” Dildine said. “Those signals are notorious for lengthy cycles and generally a poor level of service.”
Traffic at the intersection gets backed up when there’s an incident on Interstate 66, Dildine said, “because the cycles can’t handle the bailout.”
At the intersection, there’s a daily average of about 64,000 vehicles on Fairfax County Parkway, and 3,200 on Popes Head Road.
The project will be paid for using federal, state and county funding, VDOT said.
Below is a map of the intersection:
