To the average person, the Walker Road Project looks nearly complete.
With signage that needs to be moved and added, however, there is still a few days left until the affectionately dubbed "Walker Road Diet" is another check mark for the Great Falls Citizen’s Association.
"We still need the speed limit sign moved and a crosswalk sign," said GFCA President Eric Knudsen. "Once they get that in here and get the speed limit reduced to 25 miles per hour, I’ll be fine."
He was referring to a 35 mile per hour speed limit sign by the Wells Fargo crosswalk that needed to move down further - to be replaced with a 25 mile per hour sign. Additionally, the crosswalks lacked a sign informing drivers to yield to pedestrians. He said the changes already have gotten drivers to slow down, though. He has seen cars rocket down the road at 50 miles per hour in the past.
Construction crews finished asphalting the Walker Road south of Georgetown Pike around March 24. Residents were using the crosswalk and street side parking just days later.
Knudsen said that, besides a few vocal naysayers, most people spoke positively about the change.
"We love the walk!" yelled an unidentified woman in her car.
Knudsen smile broke into a wide grin.
"See?" he said.
The idea of the project was born in 2006 when GFCA wanted to get a crosswalk to help pedestrians walk safely across the road from the tavern to Great Falls Library. However, the Virginia Department of Transportation informed the citizens association that a crosswalk could not be painted on a five lane road. Thus, the decision to put Walker Road on a "diet." The plan was to whittle the road to two lanes with one two-way turn lane in the center. Bumpouts created sidewalk space and street-side parking.
"We worked with [Fairfax Department of Transportation]," said Knudsen. "One year later, they came up with three plans. We told them which of the designs we wanted, and they came back another year later with a design."
The project took a little longer than a year to construct. Because of some design changes, the cost went from about $260,000 to nearly $1 million.
"It would not have cost that much money if they didn’t have to do all of the drainage," said Knudsen, pointing at white pop-ups in the grass along the road. "In today’s world, the engineers, the rules we play by cause the expenses we have to live by."
Old Brogue Pub owner Michael Kearney - who owns a business near Walker Road - thinks the "diet" was a good improvement for Great Falls.
"I think Eric Knudsen and the GFCA Transportation committee did a great job," he said. "I love the feel of the new road when you drive up the hill from the Village Green Day School into our small town. We now have a crosswalk between the two shopping centers which will make the village more walking friendly and you no longer feel like you are racing to get to the Georgetown Pike light. I love it!"