Summary

Construction will begin on the W&OD Trail Crossings at

Great Falls St – April 2 to June 7
Little Falls St – April 2 to June 7
N Oak St – June 10 to Julu 8
N Spring St – July 10 to August 6

There will be some road closures although the W&OD trail will be open. The new crossings will result in separate lanes for pedestrians and bicycles and new islands, traffic signs and markings. Design details are below.

Background

When NOVA Parks constructed separate bike and pedestrian lanes on a limited section of the W&OD Trail, they forced these lanes to merge at each street crossing. If all goes according to plan, by the end of summer, pedestrians and bikers in that section of the trail will no longer have to merge paths to cross streets.

Included in the City’s W&OD Park Master Plan are concepts for improving the W&OD trail crossings at six locations in the City. When Founders Row was developed, two locations at N West Street and Grove Avenue were redesigned and constructed by the developers. The design for the remaining four crossings was completed in September 2022, and construction begins on April 2, 2024. The crossings are at:

Little Falls Street,
Great Falls Street,
N Oak Street and
N Spring Street.

Map of W&OD Trail crossings in Falls Church City. — W&OD Trail crossings in Falls Church City. Source: W&OD Park Master Plan

Funding

According to the City webpage: “The project is federal (VDOT TAP) and locality funded, and the most recent cost estimate is $2,099,521.” It is a project in the City’s FY 2025 budget and Capital Improvement Program.

Schedule

The schedule for construction is as follows:

Great Falls St – April 2 to June 7
Little Falls St – April 2 to June 7
N Oak St – June 10 to July 8
N Spring St – July 10 to August 6

Street closures and narrowing during construction

Note that road closings will occur only on days when it is unavoidable and worker safety is an issue.

Great Falls crossing: Roadblocks will close off the entrance to Pennsylvania Avenue. Great Falls Street will be open but single-laned with signal-controlled traffic flow. In the initial phase, no left turn is allowed from Riley Street onto Great Falls Street.

Little Falls crossing: Roadblocks will close off the entrance to Four Mile Run Drive. Little Falls Street will be open but single lane at the construction site.

Oak Street crossing: Roadblocks will close off the street on both sides of the W&OD Trail.

Spring Street crossing: Roadblocks will close off N Spring Street on both sides of the W&OD Trail.

The diagrams below show the placement of the roadblocks and accessibility of the street and trail during construction.

Diagrams showing traffic signs and roadblocks plans for W&OD trail crossings — Created with GIMP

W&OD Trail crossings design overview

The crossings will maintain the separate pedestrian and bicycle traffic lanes across each intersection.
Traffic medians will be introduced on all streets except Little Falls Street. Road traffic lanes will be narrowed to 11 ft as a result.
Different road textures and colors will be used to highlight the intersection.
At least 4 streetlamps will be included near each corner of each intersection.

Below are renditions of the crossings from a 2020 document that provides a depiction of the final design.

References

W&OD Trail Crossings Project Baseline Schedule, March 20, 2024. Detailed project schedule.
100% Design Plan for W&OD Trail Crossings, September 2022. Architectural plans include erosion control, drainage plan, traffic control plans, site plans, landscape plans, lighting plans, etc.
W&OD Park Master Plan, City of Falls Church.
W&OD Trail Crossings Update. Renditions of the trail crossings are included in this Word document.