County seeks funds for Sunrise Valley Drive cycle track

RestonNow.com February 22, 2023 at 1:32pm

A vehicle waits to enter Sunset Valley Drive in McNair — A cycle path is slated for federal funds near Sunrise Valley Drive (staff photo by David Taube)

(Updated at 10:45 a.m. on 2/23/2023) Fairfax County is seeking federal funds to complete a cycle track on Sunrise Valley Drive.

At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday (Tuesday), the board unanimously approved a $13.5 million grant funding request for the project.

The county plans to reconstruct Sunrise Valley Drive to include a one-way separated bicycle lane in each direction from Carta Way to Edmund Halley Drive.

“[The] plan [is] to add raised bike lanes within the existing curb by narrowing the existing travel lanes and medians to improve bike access to Innovation Station Metro, Herndon Metro and [the Reston] Town Center Metro,” Fairfax County Department of Transportation spokesperson Robin Geiger said.

The project is expected to cost around $24 million, including roughly $10 million that has already been secured.

“Sunrise Valley Drive is a challenge for pedestrians and bicyclists due to conditions such as wide intersection and high vehicular volumes,” county staff said in a memo.

With additional traffic expected with the opening of phase two of the Silver Line late last year, the county is eyeing ways to improve safety.

The county is seeking funds through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program.

RAISE targets programs that result in major local or regional impacts, particularly passenger transportation, intermodal and road projects.