Update: Lorton Road Widening Project On Schedule

You might have noticed a few more construction trucks along in Lorton over the last several months. It's all been the relocation of utilities for the upcoming widening of Lorton Road. 

"We just completed the relocation of a 36-inch gas main at Furnace at the intersection with Hooes Road," said Jeanmarie Roberson, a senior engineer with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, to Patch. "We anticipate additional relocation of utilities to be goingoing from now until the fall, and perhaps later." 

The $66 million improvement project for Lorton Road will be put out to bid this fall, which can be a three-to-four month process, said Roberson.

The project includes Lorton Road from Route 123 to Silverbrook Road, and Furnace Road from Route 123 to Lorton Road. It will include the installation of 90 degree intersections, on-road bike lanes, dedicated turn lanes, 10-foot-wide shared use paths and new bridges over Giles Run and the Greenway Trail. 

The Lorton Road project is funded by $20 million from the Fairfax County November 2007 Transportation Bond Referendum, $1.3 million from developer contributions and $45 million from the Commercial Real Estate Tax for Transportation program. 

Construction is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2016. 

"Right now we are on schedule," said Roberson. "The land was cleared in the fall of 2012, and we've gone directly into the utility relocation, which is proceeding at a nice pace now. There's been no weather events or situations that have slowed that progress. At this point we're in good shape." 

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