Before you get to excited, you should know that the proposal by VDOT in the works, and discussed last night, is limited to a spot improvement at the overpass of Route 7 over the Dulles Toll Road (DTR). That being said, this overpass is the single largest between Reston and Tysons, and therefore the improvement, and groundwork of designing for future multi-modal expansion, is an important one.
What’s the project scope?
This project will widen Route 7 from four lanes to six lanes, approximately from 0.1 mile west of Tyco Road to approximately 0.6 mile west of Tyco Road. Alright not great on it’s own, but this is one major concession that was made with county residents in the Tysons Comprehensive Plan debate to assure them that access to the city wouldn’t come to some future hellscape immovable traffic jam.
The six lane facility will tie into the existing four lanes (further west until a future project widens the road further).
Rendering showing grade separation of trail parallel but shielded from Route 7
The decks of the two existing bridges over Dulles Airport Toll Road (DATR) will be replaced and widened in the middle to accommodate one extra lane on each side of the bridges.This is the main driver of the cost.
A 14 foot wide shared-use path will be built for pedestrians and bikes to travel in each direction. The shared-use path will tie into future trails. This will be similar to the system of trails that connect non-TOD Arlington, Westover, and Falls Church to the job centers of Arlington via the Custis Trail, a very popular trail in Arlington. The trail will take a few more years to tie into further out suburbs, but in the short term will provide access to many in the Wolf Trap vicinity (and possibly access for those of us in Tysons to Wolf Trap as well).
Option showing crossing from trail along outside of Route 7 to a central median trail through Tysons and under the metro
The good news for commuters is that they will get an extra lane in each direction, something they have been asking for. The good news for transit advocates, multi-modal folks, and smart growth supporters is that the county has suggested these will be HOV and Bus Lanes, creating a psuedo-BRT system for the Route 7 corridor, capable of reaching many communities that the Silver Line will not and providing an option for a 20 minute express ride from non-TOD areas of Reston.
The project will cost $34.4 and is more likely to begin in 2015 than 2014 considering no right of way has been purchased at this time. There are a few varying options in the design that VDOT would like input on, including whether to grade separate the trail paths (which would help increase the safety of the paths in a heavily traversed part of town).
One interesting concept would have the trails converge on a central median zone once passing Jarrett Valley Drive and entering Tysons, which could have some interesting design possibilities. It would also provide the easiest implementation of existing right of way, as well as utilizing an otherwise wasted space underneath the metro line (we could call it a cycle track or bike highway like DC does and finally be cool like they are).
Personally, I’d like to see a grade separated system across Jarrett Drive and then across to the median with Route 7 so that it can run under the metro within the city. That would ensure safer access outside of town in more suburban areas, and more logical land use in the urban city region.
I’ve gotta say, in general, the concept is very non-VDOT’y (trademark pending). This could be a signal of innovative and multi-modal consideration from the agency which has become more known for rural highways than urban design. Unlike the painful to watch public relations of the outer beltway, VDOT has been very good at creating logical documents and even this video helping to explain the project. (Ok VDOT, you got me, I’ll give you another chance. Let’s make up.)
[tube]Zdxcnmwv0B0, 550, 350 [/tube]
For the full presentation visit the project website.
If you’d like to comment on the proposal, VDOT has provided a form online here.