For Airu Bidurum, who uses a wheelchair, the new continuous shared-use path along northbound Route 29 between Vaden Drive and Nutley Street is a game-changer. It makes it easier and safer for him to reach his destination. “Before, I used to go to the other side, and it took me longer,” Bidurum said. “I’m glad for this improvement that the county made.”

The Virginia Department of Transportation and Fairfax County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 3, at 11 a.m. to celebrate the new improved path.

“VDOT is proud to provide this key trail connection for bicyclists and pedestrians,” said Bill Cuttler, P.E., VDOT's Northern Virginia deputy district engineer. “We are committed to improving transportation options in northern Virginia.”

By filling in missing sections of the path, the project improved pedestrian, bicycle and wheelchair access to the nearby Vienna Metro station and connected to trails, including Towers Park, along a one-third-mile stretch of northbound Route 29 (Lee Highway).

“We saw during the pandemic that we had so many residents walking from their residences at the end of the trail, and they had to go on the highway in order to reach the Pan Am Shopping Center,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Dalia A. Palchik (D-Providence District). “That’s the important thing about multi-modal transportation, especially focused on our pedestrians, those who have mobility concerns, and on our cyclists.”

To accommodate the shared-use path, the project also extended the Route 29 culvert over an Accotink Creek tributary just west of Nutley Street.

Public input on the Route 29 bicycle and pedestrian improvements began in February 2019, with construction on the Route 29 Northbound Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements Project beginning in November 2022. The total project costs came in at $3.8 million, preliminary engineering, $1.2 million; right of way acquisition and utility relocation,  $1.2 million; and construction, $1.4 million. The project is financed with Fairfax County funding and by part of the concession fee provided under the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project Comprehensive Agreement. The construction contractor was  Ardent Company, LLC of McLean.

Nov. 19 is World Day of Remembrance 2023 for road traffic victims in the U.S. It is a day to acknowledge and remember Northern Virginia’s victims of road traffic violence and advocate for preventing and eventually stopping road traffic deaths and injuries. Since last year’s event on November 11, 2022, there have been 17 pedestrian fatalities in Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria counties: the youngest victim, Luis Fernando Jimenez Rodriguez, 26 years old (Fairfax County, Bailey’s Crossroads); and the oldest victim, Brigitte Forster, 86 years old (Fairfax County, McLean).