Transportation Projects Impacting Vienna In NVTA Long-Range Plan

VIENNA, VA — Northern Virginia Transportation Authority adopted its long-range transportation plan on Thursday. The adoption was the final step in a two-year public engagement process to prioritize transportation funding in Northern Virginia.

The TransAction plan identifies 424 multimodal projects aimed at enhancing Northern Virginia's transportation infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the region.

The projects identified in the TransAction plan account for an estimated $75 billion in potential investments through 2045.

NVTA will use the TransAction plan to inform its decisions in implementing the Six Year Program for regional revenue funding.

View a full list of projects in NVTA's updated TransAction plan.

The following projects in and around Vienna are included in the TransAction plan NVTA adopted on Thursday:

1. High-Capacity Transit Extension from Vienna Metrorail station to Centreville: Extend High-Capacity Transit from Vienna to Centreville. Potential modes include Metrorail, light rail, bus rapid transit, or improved bus service on corridor between stations. Construction of stations and park-and-ride lots at Centreville, Stringfellow, and Government Center / Fair Oaks, and a station serving the City of Fairfax.
2. Vienna Metrorail Station Feeder Bus Service Expansion: Add new routes and improve service levels on existing routes that serve the Vienna Metrorail Station.
3. Route 123 Widening: City of Fairfax to Town of Vienna: Widen Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) to six lanes between City of Fairfax and Town of Vienna.
4. Route 123 Enhanced Bus Service: Implement enhanced bus service on Route 123 between Tysons and George Mason University in Fairfax.
5. Metrorail Station Access and Capacity Improvements: Construction of station access and capacity improvements at Rosslyn, Pentagon, Vienna, Foggy Bottom, Farragut West, Farragut North, Gallery Place, McPherson Square, Metro Center, L'Enfant Plaza, and Union Station. Improvements include new/expanded mezzanine, bridges above tracks, platform widening, elevators/escalators/stairs, internal transfer points, new entrances, pedestrian passageways between stations, station area lighting and customer amenities.
6. I-66 / Orange Line Bus Facility Improvements: Expand and improve bus bays, passenger facilities, and bus circulation and access paths at all Orange Line stations and bus centers in the I-66 corridor.
7. Vienna Regional Bikesharing: Implement bike rental stations in Town of Vienna in coordination with wider County and regional system.
8. Vienna Metrorail Access Improvements: Improve access to Metrorail and encourage mass transit use by completing all sidewalks within a half-mile of Vienna and Tysons Metrorail Stations. Also, provide a trolley or circulator bus along Maple Avenue (Route 123) to connect with Vienna Metrorail Station and Metrorail Silver Line in Tysons. A parking garage would be provided along the route. Includes "Walk to Metro" and "Commercial Transit, Metro Access, and Parking" projects.
9. Vienna Metrorail Station North Side Bus Improvements: Reconstruct the north side bus bay area to replace all paved surfaces, add new bus shelters and complete customer amenity package to complement the southside improvements.
10. Route 123 - Fairfax to Mclean via Tysons Multi-Use Path: Develop a multi-use path along Route 123 connecting Fairfax and McLean via Tysons; create a connection between this trail and the Gallows Road side path.

For the first time, NVTA included a seamlessly connected Bus Rapid Transit system across the region in its long-range plan. Local BRT would fill the gaps between the region's existing transit systems, such as Metrorail and the Virginia Railway Express.

By 2045, the Northern Virginia region is expected to grow by 23 percent to 3.14 million, and employment is expected to grow by 33 percent to 1.94 million, according to a release. NVTA deemed investments in a multimodal transportation network to be an essential part of its final plan if it was to meet the needs of this projected expansion.

Patch editor Michael O'Connell contributed to this report.