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Major transportation projects promise to reshape travel and development through the Mount Vernon area, but their benefits remain years away as officials prepare for property demolitions, highway construction and a nearly $979 million rapid-transit system.
Transportation officials outlined plans for Richmond Highway, bus rapid transit and a possible Capital Beltway express-lanes extension during a Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber business breakfast at Belle Haven Country Club.
The most immediate major project is the widening of Richmond Highway between Fort Belvoir and Sacramento Drive. The Virginia Department of Transportation plans to add a lane along several miles of the corridor, with construction scheduled to begin in mid-2027 and finish in early 2029.
Some properties in the project’s path have already been marked for demolition, prompting disagreement among nearby residents.
The widening will also create space in the highway’s median for dedicated bus lanes. The planned Bus Rapid Transit system will connect Huntington Metro Station with Fort Belvoir and is scheduled for completion in 2033.
Fairfax County estimates the BRT project will cost approximately $978.8 million. That figure includes dedicated lanes and stations as well as pedestrian, bicycle and road-safety improvements.
Officials issued a call for artists in August to create locally inspired designs for windscreens at the future stations. The county set a Sept. 30 deadline for artists to submit their qualifications and portfolios.
Another proposal could extend the Capital Beltway express-lanes network 11 miles from the Springfield Interchange, across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, to the MD 210 interchange in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
VDOT expects to complete its I-495 Southside Express Lanes Study in early 2026. No construction schedule has been established.
Smaller safety projects are moving forward while motorists wait for the larger improvements. An intersection project at Fort Hunt Road is intended to improve pedestrian safety, and officials are considering a crosswalk at Fordson Road.