Fairfax County Parkway Listed as Primary Road

The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the transfer of the Fairfax County Parkway, Prince William Parkway and Franconia-Springfield Parkway to primary roads Wednesday, making them eligible for new funding and maintenance priorities, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced.

As primary roads, the routes can receive federal funding for paving, guardrail, bridge improvements and other projects. Federal funding typically covers 80 percent of the cost to maintain interstates and primary roads, with the remaining 20 percent from state funds.

The Fairfax County Parkway (Route 7100), which runs from Route 1 to Route 7, will be renamed Route 286. The 32-mile road carries between 22,000 and 75,000 vehicles per day.

The Franconia-Springfield Parkway (Route 7900), which runs from Beulah Road to the Fairfax County Parkway, will be renamed Route 289. The 4-mile road carries between 53,000 and 57,000 vehicles per day.

The Prince William Parkway (Route 3000), which runs from Route 1 to Route 234, will be renamed Route 294. The 16-mile road carries between 25,000 and 54,000 vehicles per day.

Over the next three months, VDOT will replace signs with the new route numbers and add additional signs indicating "Old Route 7100," "Old Route 3000," and "Old Route 7900." Drivers will see the old route number alongside the new route number for about a year so businesses have ample time to update their materials.  

Roads may be considered for the transfer from secondary to primary when they meet a majority of certain criteria, such as carrying a minimum traffic volume; carrying a minimum percentage of out-of-state, truck, tractor-trailer, or bus traffic; and serving as a link for highways, county seats or sites of historic or scenic interest.

Northern Virginia has about 470 miles of the 8,000 miles of primary roads statewide.