Columbia Pike leaders hosted a formal ribbon cutting yesterday (Wednesday) on street and sidewalk improvements that had snarled the busy corridor for years.
Local business leaders, numerous staff from the Department of Environmental Services (DES) and all five members of the Arlington County Board attended the event, which marked “substantial completion” of a project intended to improve the experience of bus riders, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike.
Speakers celebrated the undertaking that widened sidewalks and added new landscaping, installed new streetlights and traffic signals, reconfigured travel lanes and brought a variety of improvements to bus stops.
“Columbia Pike has long-been a close-knit community, shaped by the people who live, shop, and spend time there,” Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a press release. “The completion of these improvements makes it easier to enjoy and celebrate the corridor’s wealth of dining, community spaces, and artistic landmarks.”
Speakers also acknowledged the extensive frustrations that the project brought to business owners and travelers. While by no means as ambitious as county leaders’ original plans to construct a streetcar along the Pike, the improvements required a disruptive process of moving utilities underground.
“When it comes to street improvements, there’s that inevitable construction portion that is not glamorous, especially for those who live here, walk here and conduct business here,” DES Chief Deputy Director Hui Wang said at the event. “We heard from you, and … the staff try our best to work with you.”
The $161 million Columbia Pike Multimodal Improvement project was funded through a combination of local commercial property taxes and funds from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
The first segment of streetscape improvements began all the way back in 2009, and the next two were completed in 2015. Roadwork was an ongoing pain point for local businesses who told ARLnow that it hurt profit margins and made it more difficult to grow and even survive on the Pike.
The project stretches from the county line to S. Joyce Street.
Wang particularly highlighted the Pike’s popularity among transit users. The corridor has historically had the highest bus ridership in all of Virginia, carrying over 17,000 weekday riders before the pandemic.
While the project is considered substantially complete, Wang told ARLnow that the construction contractor is still in the process of touching up portions of work that didn’t meet the county’s standards.
“We are celebrating the completion. At the same time, we make sure we hold the contractor responsible,” she said.
As many in the community breathe a sigh of relief, leaders encouraged residents to check out upcoming events like the Columbia Pike Culture Fest — happening this Saturday at the Arlington Mill Community Center — as well as the farmers market held every Sunday at 2820 Columbia Pike.
“Over the past several years, the Columbia Pike community has shown resilience during construction, but it ultimately fulfills the county’s commitment to continue investing wisely and significantly in the Pike,” said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the Columbia Pike Partnership. “It will provide safer, easier, and more appealing transit for neighbors, businesses, and visitors to one of the best parts of Arlington and our region.”
