Fairfax County Parkway

The Fairfax County Parkway, numbered State Route 286 (SR 286, formerly SR 7100 and the Trooper Charles Mark Cosslett Memorial Highway, designated in 2010 as the final link through Fort Belvoir. Jack Herrity served for 12 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and was instrumental in getting the road built. This name is ceremonial, and is rarely used by the public.

Route description

thumb|The Parkway near its southern end, on Fort Belvoir property|alt=|left

left|thumb|Fairfax County Parkway crossing [[Pohick Creek]]

thumb|left|View north along SR 286 just north of Franklin Farm Road in [[Franklin Farm, Virginia|Franklin Farm]]

The Fairfax County Parkway and its branch to Franconia generally have interchanges at major roads, traffic signals at intermediate roads, and right-in/right-out (RIRO) intersections with minor roads and neighborhood streets. Along the main parkway (SR 286), there are 17 full or partial interchanges and 39 signals, with eleven of those signals at interchanges. In addition, there are many unsignalized intersections along the road, but none of these are driveways, since the road is limited-access. The road generally has a speed limit of .

The south end of SR 286 begins at an intersection with US 1 at Accotink and heads northwest through Fort Belvoir, leaving the fort at a diamond interchange with Telegraph Road (SR 611), crossing I-95 at a full cloverleaf (exit 166), crossing over Fullerton Road, passing through interchanges with Boudinot Drive and Barta Road, and turning west through West Springfield at Rolling Road. This portion replaced the existing Backlick Road (SR 617), which continues north from the I-95 interchange and connects to the Franconia–Springfield Parkway (SR 289). During most of the parkway's life, the portion between Fullerton Road and SR 289 had not been constructed due to delay caused by environmental issues, including an oil spill along its path through the Fort Belvoir Proving Ground. Since approval in 2008, construction began in 2009 and the new portion was opened in late 2010. mostly as a sidepath, but sometimes using adjacent frontage roads and old alignments of the roads that the parkway replaced. It intersects the Washington and Old Dominion Trail north of Sunset Hills Road at Herndon, near that trail's mile 19. The final section of the trail was opened in 2002.

History

Planning

The Outer Beltway was first planned in 1950 as the "Cross Country Loop", part of the National Capital Planning Commission's comprehensive plan. In Virginia, by the time of a 1965 plan, it was to run through southern and western Fairfax County, crossing the Potomac River at Mason Neck and north of Great Falls, and passing generally west of State Route 123 (Ox Road) and east of SR 645 (Clifton Road, Stringfellow Road, and Lees Corner Road). The straight part of the Fairfax County Parkway between south of Franklin Farm Road and north of Baron Cameron Avenue is built where the beltway would have been. During the 1970s, attention was focused on the Metrorail system, and environmental concerns temporarily pushed the Outer Beltway onto the back burner. In the 1980s and 1990s, when the plan was revived as the Western Transportation Corridor, the route was shifted further west. The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved final plans on July 16, 1987 for the road, with 16 interchanges and 35 traffic signals between U.S. Route 1 at Fort Belvoir and State Route 7 near Dranesville. A spur to Franconia was included, providing access to the Shirley Highway HOV lanes and the Franconia–Springfield Metrorail station. Except for a short six-lane piece in Reston, the $242 million plan included only four lanes. Since it was a surface road, the highway could incorporate existing roads. This included portions of SR 617 (Backlick Road), SR 636 (Hooes Road), SR 641 (Pohick Road), and SR 680 (Stuart Road).

Fifty-five homes and five businesses had to be taken by eminent domain to build the road.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors changed the name to the Fairfax County Parkway on June 23, 1988, noting that it traveled far from Springfield.

Construction

thumb|left|SR 286 in Reston

;I-66 to Herndon (1987–1993)

Three bond issues were approved by Fairfax County voters to pay for construction of the highway, as well as other roads in the county: $135 million in November 1985, $150 million in April 1988, and $130 million in November 1992. The first portions of the road to open were financed by developers building in the area: Hazel/Peterson Companies from a new interchange on Interstate 66 north to U.S. Route 50, and Cavalier Land Development Corporation from Stringfellow Road north to Franklin Farm Road, both completed in 1987. On October 24, 1989, the gap from US 50 to Stringfellow Road was filled, and the road was extended from Franklin Farm Road north to West Ox Road (SR 608). It was further extended north to a new interchange on the Dulles Toll Road (SR 267) on October 22, 1991, and north to Sunset Hills Road (SR 675) on July 7, 1993.

;Springfield to I-66 (1993–1996)

The next pieces of the road to open were in the southwest, with an upgrade and bypass of Hooes Road (SR 636) from Pohick Road (SR 641) east to Rolling Road (SR 638) and the Franconia–Springfield Parkway opening by November 1993. The highway from Ox Road (SR 123) north to Braddock Road (SR 620) opened on July 28, 1995, and was connected to the existing portion at I-66 on September 19. Two interchanges along this portion and the older one to the north – at US 50 and at US 29 – opened on December 14 and December 20 respectively. From SR 123 southeast to the beginning of the Franconia–Springfield Parkway, existing two-lane roads were widened, opening the road from SR 123 east to Lee Chapel Road (SR 643) by May 1996 and to Pohick Road (SR 641) on July 2, 1996, completing the road from Springfield to Herndon. However, until a new bridge opened in early September 2002, traffic on Pohick Road northbound (just east of Hooes Road) was required to turn right onto the parkway.

;US 1 to I-95 (1997) and Herndon to SR 7 (1999–2001)

The southernmost portion, from US 1 north across I-95 to Fullerton Road, mostly an upgrade of Backlick Road (SR 617), opened south of Telegraph Road (SR 611) by July 1997 and north of Telegraph Road later that year. The first part north of Sunset Hills Road (SR 675), a short piece from the new interchange with SR 7 south to Sugarland Road (SR 604), opened by June 1999. The parkway was extended south from Sugarland Road to Wiehle Avenue (SR 828) on November 1, 2000. The road was extended to Walnut Branch with two lanes extended to Baron Cameron Avenue (SR 606) on December 21, 2000. The gap between Walnut Branch and Sunset Hills was filled on November 5, 2001, finally completing the parkway north of Springfield.

thumb|left|SR 286 southbound at SR 289 in Newington

;I-95 to Springfield (2009–2012)

Construction has been delayed many times on the last segment, between Fullerton Road (just north of I-95) and Rolling Road (SR 638), which will allow traffic on the main part of the parkway to connect directly to the I-95 main lanes. Plans were made here in the late 1980s, and it was to be paid for by a developer who was to build a development on land bought from the U.S. Army's Fort Belvoir. But those plans fell through, and traffic growth necessitated a redesign. The Environmental Protection Agency discovered in 2005 that an oil spill on the property had not been properly cleaned. , the project had been designed as a full freeway but was placed on hold. As of September 2010, this portion of the parkway opened for traffic, closing the gap that once existed.

;Future improvements

Plans have been made for an interchange at Fair Lakes Parkway, just north of I-66. This project will be funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds. This project was certified on August 10, 2009, and the construction contract is expected to be let August 2010. Furthermore, improvements are being made to the West Ox Road and Sunrise Valley Drive intersections with the parkway along with interchanges with the new portion of the parkway between Fullerton Road and Rolling Road at Boudinot Drive. Additions and improvements to the I-95 interchange with Fairfax County Parkway are currently under development as well. Fairfax County Parkway is also currently undergoing construction between I-66 and VA-123 to be expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes, with expected completion landing around mid-2027.

Designation as primary state highway

On February 16, 2012, the Fairfax County Parkway was designated SR 286. In June 2012, signage was updated to reflect the new designation with a mix of SR 286 and "old SR 7100" signs and reassurance markers.

Major intersections

References

External links

Fairfax County Parkway, from The Roads of Northern Virginia
Franconia–Springfield Parkway, from The Roads of Northern Virginia