Fairfax Co. leaders celebrate new bicycle, pedestrian bridge over I-495
TYSONS, Va. (7News) — Fairfax County leaders on Wednesday celebrated the new bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the I-495 Capital Beltway.
The bridge spanning Route 7 and Route 123 provides a new link between the Tysons Corner Center mall and Tysons residential areas east of the Beltway, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
According to VDOT, 138,000 cars drive on this section of I-495 each day.
"Fairfax was originally built as a shrine to the automobile and so we’re faced with retrofitting various mobility solutions and that’s what this project represents," said Rep. Gerry Connolly.
SEE ALSO | Fairfax County entrepreneur, just 12-years-old, opens candle store in Tyson's Corner
The $13.4 million improvement project also carries a new ten-foot-wide shared-use path that runs nearly half a mile from Tysons One Place and Fashion Boulevard to Old Meadow Road and Provincial Drive, VDOT said.
The project’s second phase will extend the new shared-use path by half a mile along Old Meadow Road from Provincial Drive to Route 123.
Final design and construction will begin in the second phase as additional funding becomes available, according to VDOT.
"When we put our minds to something, we can work together to do great things for our community and this is an investment in our environment and residents’ safety," said Jeffrey McKay, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
