As of Thursday, Nov. 15, VDOT shifted traffic onto the new Fairfax County Parkway bridge over the Fair Lakes Parkway and Monument Drive. The new bridge spans from south of Fair Lakes Parkway to north of Monument Drive. With the new overpass, motorists won’t encounter a traffic signal for the five-mile stretch between Popes Head Road and Route 50.
The work is part of a $69.7 million interchange project set for completion next spring. It’s being built to ease traffic congestion at the intersection of these two, heavily traveled thoroughfares.
Planned is a split-diamond, grade-separated interchange, with a free-flowing Fairfax County Parkway bridging over Fair Lakes Parkway and Monument Drive. Through traffic will be separated from local ramp traffic, with traffic signals on the ramps, not on the parkway.
The Fairfax County Parkway is being widened from four to six lanes for three miles, from south of I-66 to Rugby Road. Signals at Fair Lakes Parkway and Monument Drive will be eliminated. Long ramps will provide separate access to and from both parkways and Monument Drive.