F.C. City Director: Seven Corners a ‘Gateway’ in Connection to NoVa Region

Continued from Page received input from civic groups, property owners, and businesses. It envisions a four-lane ring road with bridges, sidewalks and a bus transit center on a service road around two thirds of the interchange—leaving intact entrances to the City of Falls Church.

Phase One would address the western entrance from Route 50; Phase two would redo the southern entrances to both major state routes; phase three would recast the central intersection as more of a square; and phase four would adjust Wilson Boulevard in front of the Eden Center to reroute traffic toward Roosevelt Blvd. and the East Falls Church Metro. The ring road is expected to spawn redevelopment and include landscaping.

The project was first broached in 2012 with organizing on broader “quality of life” issues at Seven Corners by Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross. Early proposals to loop Falls Church City in the new ring were later removed after resistance from residents on Hillwood Ave.

“Seven Corners is a gateway to the City, connecting us to the Northern Virginia Region,” Susan Finarelli, the city’s director of communications and Public Information Officer, told the News-Press. “The City looks forward to continued discussions with Fairfax County.”

Arlington County was also part of the intergovernmental review team, noted Katie O’Brien, director of communications and public engagement at its Environmental Services Department.

“We advocated for improved bike/pedestrian connectivity on Wilson Blvd. and for transit access on Roosevelt Blvd. – the two facilities that connect into Arlington.”

Also abandoned is any plan to route the ring road behind the Eden Center, which is itself being re-envisioned. “The first and fourth phases should relieve the central interchange of traffic, and bring more traffic to Eden via Route 7 and Wilson Blvd.–which is a good thing,” said Alan Frank, senior vice president and general counsel of Capital Commercial Properties, which owns Eden Center.

Next steps include “a look at various funding options available to apply for,” said Garcia, along with some refinement of the first phase engineering this fall. The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority in 2022 allocated $4.2 million, but groundbreaking may still be years in the future.

Last November’s feedback on the project was “a little mixed,” Garcia said. “Some wanted small changes and are a little concerned about the reconfiguration. Some wanted environmental assessments, but that’s later in the process. There were not too