Military Road Safety Improvements

Temporary roundabout pilot project at Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive

Updated Oct. 12: In October 2021, the County will micro seal Nelly Custis Drive as part of annual street maintenance. Once the micro seal work is completed, the temporary roundabout pilot project at Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive will be installed.

Installation of the roundabout is expected to begin on Monday, Oct. 18 and should take 4-5 days. This process will include partial demolition of the median, patching of surfaces and eradicating pavement markings, and then installation of quick curb, pavement markings and bollards.

View the plan

To prepare for the temporary roundabout, watch this YouTube video. The first half of the video explains how to enter and exit a one-lane roundabout, which is the type we will install.

The key takeaways for travelling through a roundabout are:

Always yield to pedestrians and cyclists at the crosswalks
When entering the roundabout, yield to vehicles and cyclists inside the roundabout
Use your signal when exiting the roundabout

This pilot project, in conjunction with the Vision Zero transportation safety program, will test the effectiveness of a roundabout for improving pedestrian safety and reducing vehicle speeding at the intersection. It will be in place for one year to allow data collection of real-world conditions, and since it’s temporary, it can be adjusted as needed or removed easily if it doesn’t work. This data will inform the design concept for the intersection that will be implemented as the last phase of the Military Road Safety Improvements project. Refer to Vision Zero pilot projects for more information.

Community Meeting: Military Road Safety Improvements Project

At a community meeting held on June 10, 2021, attendees heard about completed construction along Military Road at Marcey Road and 36th Street North, and learned about the feedback received and studies performed for pilot safety treatments to the intersection of Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive. Staff gave a short presentation on the project, which was followed by a question and answer session.

Location

Military Road at Nelly Custis Drive, Marcey Road and Gulf Branch trail/36th Road North

Status

In Design

Design development continues for Nelly Custis Drive intersection improvements. A preferred design is pending results of a pilot project.

Completed

On July 18, 2020, the County Board approved a contract with M&F Concrete Inc. to construct improvements at the Military Road intersections with Marcey Road and 36th Road North. Construction at these two intersections was completed in December 2020.

About the Project

The Military Road Safety Improvements Project will implement safety improvements at three intersections on Military Road: at Nelly Custis Drive, at Marcey Road, and at 36th Road North. These intersections were identified in a 2004 Arterial Transportation Management Study that suggested several recommendations to improve safety for all modes of transportation in the Military Road corridor.

Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive intersection

Safety improvements will focus on:

Driver yield rates
Shortening crossing distances for people walking through the intersection
Providing predictable turning movements
Reducing vehicle speeding

This intersection is identified in the Vision Zero action plan as a location where improvements can be made to facilitate and increase safety for pedestrian and bicycle movements. Two applications are being considered to improve safety at this intersection: installation of a roundabout or signalization of the intersection.

In accordance with Vision Zero principles, a pilot project will be installed to quickly and inexpensively implement the roundabout option in order to test its performance and effectiveness and compare this to the signalization concept. Observations and data collected from the pilot installation will assist in selecting the preferred solution that will be implemented as part of this project.

Military Road and Marcey Road intersection

Safety improvements included upgrading all handicap ramps to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and installing a curb extension on the southeast corner to improve a bus stop. This work was completed in December 2020.

Military Road and Marcey Road intersection design

Military Road and 36th Road North intersection

Safety improvements included eliminating the mid-block crosswalk and building a median pedestrian refuge with a high visibility crosswalk and ADA-compliant ramps. The sidewalk and bench at the bus stop also were improved. This work was completed in December 2020.

Military Road and 36th Road North intersection design

Military Road vehicle volumes

Year	Vehicles per day
2019	11,000
2018	11,000
2017	11,000
2016	11,000

Military Road current posted speed limit: 30 MPH

Information about roundabouts

Public Process

Spring 2021

A virtual community meeting was held on June 10, 2021 using Microsoft TEAMS Live. Attendees heard about completed construction along Military Road at Marcey Road and 36th Street North, and learned about the feedback received and studies performed for pilot safety treatments to the intersection of Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive. Staff gave a short presentation on the project, which was followed by a question and answer session.

Fall 2017

A community meeting was held on Sept. 27, 2017, at Taylor Elementary School, with participation from members of seven surrounding civic associations.

Following the public meeting in September 2017, the community was asked for feedback on design concepts for the three intersections. The comment period was open from October through November 2017:

The majority of responses supported changes at all three intersections to increase safety for all modes – view a summary of the feedback
Some respondents provided comments in addition to answering the feedback questions; the comments included support for and opposition to the design alternatives.

Funding

Project cost will be shared between Arlington County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).