RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Joan Morris 703-383-2465 joan.morris@virginiadot.org Ryan Hall 703-383-2055

NOVA-NR04-23 May 27, 2004

Road Improvements Coming to Fairfax County

Motorists in Fairfax County will notice more orange cones and construction crews on area roadways this summer as VDOT improves West Ox Road, Lorton Road and Pleasant Valley Road and builds a commuter lot on Gambrill Road.

West Ox Road is being widened from two to four lanes, divided, for 1.8 miles between Ox Trail and Lawyers Road. The project includes sidewalks, a multi-purpose trail, drainage and landscaping. The $11 million project began mid-May and will be completed in September, 2006.

Lorton Road will be widened from two to six lanes from Route 1 to Silverbrook Road with a new bridge over Pohick Creek. Construction on the 1.3-mile, $15.9 million widening begins in July and will be completed in June 2006.

Three curves on Pleasant Valley Road between Route 50 and Route 29 will be straightened as part of VDOT’s Hazard Elimination Safety Program. Work on the $900,000 project begins in early June and will be completed by October. Pleasant Valley Road will be closed to through traffic from June 18 to Sept. 3 to expedite construction.

Earlier this month, construction began on a 223-space park-and-ride lot at the intersection of Gambrill Road and Hooes Road. The $1.5 million commuter lot will include a bus shelter, lockers, lighting and landscaping. It will open in June 2005.

Earlier this month, VDOT completed the new 2,000-foot sound wall along the inner loop of the Capital Beltway just north of Old Dominion Drive at West Langley. The $1.4 million project was completed two weeks ahead of its May 15 completion date.

By August, crews will complete widening Beulah Street from two lanes to a four-lane divided roadway between Franconia Road and the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. Work on the 1.3 mile, $5.4 million project began in January 2003 and includes construction of turn lanes, a raised median, curb, gutter, a sidewalk on the west side of Beulah and an asphalt trail on the east side.

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NR04-23