County staff are seeking up to $85 million in state funding for improvements to busy Arlington roads.
A request to seek grants for three projects on Arlington Blvd, Glebe Road and an I-395 interchange is scheduled to go before the Arlington County Board on Monday.
“It is anticipated that VDOT will administer these projects and will accept and administer any successful funding awards, as all projects are located on VDOT roadways,” a county report says.
The largest grant sought is for a $35 million project at the crash prone Arlington Blvd interchange at Washington Blvd. Upgrades would improve safety and reduce congestion through improvements to ramps, signals and turn lanes.
A $25 million project would focus on an interchange around I-395 which straddles the border between Arlington and Alexandria.
On the Arlington side, this initiative would realign an exit ramp from the southbound I-395 collector/distributor roadway in the Shirlington area. It would also improve traffic signals and pavement markings within the rotary portion of the interchange, and increase safety at the on-ramp from southbound S. Glebe Road.
Finally, another $25 million initiative would bring safety and operational improvements to nine intersections on N. and S. Glebe Road between I-66 and Columbia Pike:
- N. Glebe Road at I-66
- N. Glebe Road at Washington Blvd
- N. Glebe Road at Fairfax Drive
- N. Glebe Road at N. Carlin Springs Road
- N. Glebe Road at N. Henderson Road/N. Quincy Street
- N. Glebe Road south of 4th Street N.
- S. Glebe Road south of Arlington Blvd
- S. Glebe Road at S. Old Glebe Road
- S. Glebe Road at 7th Street S.
Funding for these projects would come from Virginia’s Smart Scale program and would come in the next iteration of the Commonwealth’s Six Year Improvement Plan. Most likely, the initiatives would not receive funding until Fiscal Years 2029 and 2030, according to the county report.
The state typically receives hundreds of project applications and makes funding decisions based on set criteria.
“Generally, large projects that expand highway or transit safety capacity score well, with smaller projects scoring less well, but remaining competitive due to their comparatively lower costs,” the report says.
Also scheduled for County Board consideration is a resolution of support for a $20 million grant application from the city of Alexandria, which seeks to conduct multimodal and streetscape improvements along King Street in the area of the Bradlee Shopping Center, near Arlington’s Fairlington neighborhood.
