Transportation in Mount Vernon was the topic at the recent Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber Business Breakfast at the Belle Haven Country Club. Attendees talked about express lanes, the Richmond Highway widening project and the future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that has been eyed for years by local officials.

Attendees learned about upcoming demolitions, project timelines, and how these improvements will shape mobility and business growth along the Richmond Highway corridor.
Speakers included Virginia Bulger, Government and Community Affairs Manager at Transurban; Vanessa Aguayo, Transportation Planner at Fairfax County Transportation; Michelle Holland, Northern Virginia megaprojects communications manager, VDOT; and Mark VanZandt, P.E., Location & Design, VDOT.

The one project that’s underway is the Richmond Highway widening project where VDOT will add another lane for a few miles between Fort Belvoir and Sacramento Drive. Construction on the widening project is scheduled to begin in mid-2027 and to be completed by early 2029. Some of the properties along this widening route have already been marked for destruction, which has prompted some disagreement among residents in this area.

The new lane on Richmond Highway will open space for a bus rapid transit line down the center island between the north and southbound lanes. The BRT line will run between Huntington Metro Station and Fort Belvoir. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2033. According to Fairfax County, the estimated cost of the Richmond Highway BRT project is approximately $978.8 million. This includes the development of dedicated bus lanes, BRT stations, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and various road safety enhancements.

This past August, officials put out a call for artists to design locally inspired artwork for windscreens at the planned Bus Rapid Transit stations along Richmond Highway. Artists have until Sept. 30 to submit qualifications and portfolio to be considered, the county said.

VDOT’s Michelle Holland was on hand to discuss the I-495 Southside Express Lanes Study where they are looking at an extension of the express lanes system on the southern section of the Capital Beltway by 11 miles from the Springfield Interchange in Fairfax County, across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, to the MD 210 Interchange in Prince George's County, Maryland. They are scheduled to complete this study in early 2026, but no construction schedule has been established yet.

Although motorists won’t see much benefits from these projects in the near future, there are a few lesser projects underway on Richmond Highway to help things in the meantime. 

At Fort Hunt Road, there's an intersection improvement project aimed at improving pedestrian safety, and a crosswalk is being looked at for Fordson Road.

Express lanes push into Maryland