A plan to widen Fairfax County Parkway between Route 50 and the Dulles Toll Road is without funding or a definite timeline, though officials speak optimistically about the project’s eventual completion.
The widening would add two lanes to the 6.5-mile stretch of highway, and is projected to cost $100 million, said Keith Foxx, project manager with the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. The project, which could include an additional HOV lane, is included in the county’s transportation plan update.
“The fact that it’s on the transportation plan lets me know that it probably will happen,” Foxx said.
The concept sprouted from a project at the Fair Lakes interchange, Foxx said, which led the county to examine the entire corridor.
Funds available at this point are for preliminary engineering work, said Mark Canale, transportation planner with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. The county is currently undergoing environmental studies and a traffic analysis.
“When funding does become available, it will be designed and constructed,” he said. “But we’re not there yet.”
At a glance
» Fairfax County is examining two options for expanding the parkway: Widen it from the inside, or from the outside. The latter choice, according to the project manager, would likely have more impact on residents adjacent to the parkway.
Source: Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services
