The new interchange being constructed at the corner of the Fairfax County Parkway and Fair Lakes Parkway is not yet complete. However, left turns now are allowed again from the Fairfax County Parkway. This will certainly ease the confusion trying to use the intersection.
For more information on the project, visit the project’s web site. It is scheduled to complete in 2013 at a cost of $69.5M.
Fortunately, the Fairfax County Parkway on which Oak Hill residents depend is not going anywhere. But its route number is changing, from 7100 to 287. Why? From a VDOT news release:
The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the transfer yesterday of the Fairfax County Parkway, Prince William Parkway and Franconia-Springfield Parkway to primary roads, making them eligible for new funding and maintenance priorities.
The parkway has been promoted into a real state road, apparently.
Roads may be considered for the transfer from secondary to primary when they meet a majority of certain criteria, such as carrying a minimum traffic volume; carrying a minimum percentage of out-of-state, truck, tractor-trailer, or bus traffic; and serving as a link for highways, county seats or sites of historic or scenic interest.
Also changing:
The Franconia-Springfield Parkway (Route 7900), which runs from Beulah Road to the Fairfax County Parkway, will be renamed Route 289. The 4-mile road carries between 53,000 and 57,000 vehicles per day.
The Prince William Parkway (Route 3000), which runs from Route 1 to Route 234, will be renamed Route 294. The 16-mile road carries between 25,000 and 54,000 vehicles per day.
Worried you might get lost with the new signage? Not to worry:
Drivers will see the old route number alongside the new route number for about a year so that hotels, businesses, map companies, etc. have ample time to update their materials.