Prep work begins on project to add more sidewalks along South Lakes Drive

Reston drivers might have noticed some fencing and other construction equipment going up along stretches of road near South Lakes High School, as crews prep the area for a sidewalk construction project.

The approximately $2 million bicycle/pedestrian project on South Lakes Drive will add sidewalk to areas that are currently mostly dirt paths. According to a Fairfax County document, the sidewalk being constructed involves an approximately 3,600-foot-long area.

That’s not all. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation project will also add sidewalk on Twin Branches Road at the intersection with South Lakes Drive, where safety upgrades for pedestrians will also occur, Reston Association Chief Operating Officer Larry Butler said in a Reston Today video on Tuesday (July 6).

“Very early in the planning and scoping for this project, Fairfax County agreed to add a short section of sidewalk that had been identified in our multimodal transportation advisory committee’s report, Reston on Foot and Bike,” Butler said.

The project, which uses 2014 bond money, will install walkways from Greenskeepers Court to Soapstone Drive, Whisperwood Glen Lane to Ridge Heights Road, and Harbor Court to Twin Branches Road.

Orange barrel markers have been placed along areas of the project — areas which Butler said will fill in gaps between existing sections of sidewalk and Reston Association pathways, and improve three bus stops in main sections of the work.

Butler noted in the video that the project is one of three recent pedestrian improvement projects in the area. Work to add five-foot-wide sidewalks on the south side of Sunrise Valley Drive from South Lakes to Soapstone Drive and from RA’s headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.) west to Glade Drive has been completed.

“These improvements will help facilitate a safer pedestrian experience for all Restonians,” Butler said. “I hope you get out and enjoy these paths and sidewalks once they’re completed.”