VDOT improvements to enhance safety and traffic flow, as well as bicyclist/pedestrian accessibility and mobility, are now open at the intersection of Route 50 and Waples Mill Road in Fairfax City. And it was all completed nearly two months ahead of schedule.
Drivers have a new, additional, left-turn lane from westbound Route 50 to southbound Waples Mill, meaning that all four sides of the intersection now have two, left-turn lanes. And bicyclists and pedestrians have a new crossing, plus a refuge island, along the western side of the intersection across Route 50, providing additional connections to the nearby I-66 Parallel Trail access coming to Waples Mill Road later this summer.
The improvements were needed because, at the intersection, Route 50 averages 48,000 vehicles/day and Waples Mill averages about 25,000. Construction on this project began in October 2022 and is now substantially done, with minor finishing touches in the coming weeks expected to have minimal impacts.
The $2.9 million project was financed with local funding and part of the concession fee provided under the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project Comprehensive Agreement. VDOT reminds drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to use caution when traveling in active work zones, be alert to new traffic patterns and limit distractions.