The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) awarded the Route 7 Corridor Improvements Project to the Dewberry/Shirley Contracting team in July 2018. The scope includes reconstructing and widening the road and incorporating multimodal and intersection improvements between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive. VDOT held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project in June.

Improvements include widening the road from four to six lanes, constructing continuous shared-use paths for pedestrians and bicyclists, replacing the bridge over Difficult Run, adding a pedestrian underpass at Colvin Run Mill Park, and shifting Route 7 away from the historic Colvin Run Mill. Six stormwater management ponds will be added, as well as noise barriers with architectural treatments. Major intersection improvements are also featured, including the construction of a displaced left turn at Lewinsville Road and upgrades at Towlston Road and Baron Cameron Avenue.

“This is a heavily traveled commuter corridor and the maintenance of traffic throughout construction is critical to the success of this project,” says Steve Kuntz, PE, DBIA, manager of Dewberry’s mid-Atlantic region transportation service line. “Our team brings a lot of experience to this challenge, having completed similar improvement projects along Routes 50, 606, 659, 28, and I-66, as well as elsewhere along Route 7.”