[Update 6/10/23: Arlington County Board members approved this project as part of their consent agenda.]
Arlington County Board members on June 10 are slated to award a contract totaling just under $35 million to wrap up the final phases of streetscape improvements to Columbia Pike.
The funding will support the two segments of the project that currently are neither completed or under construction:
• Segment C, between South Quinn Street and South Courthouse Road.
• Segment D, between South Courthouse Road and South Garfield Street.
The two sectors will be tackled concurrently and will result in a five-lane cross-section (with either turn lanes or a median occupying the center section) plus a variety of enhanced amenities for drives, bicyclists and pedestrians. Utilities will be moved underground.
Milani Construction had the lowest responsive bid among three competitors. The firm will receive an incentive award of up to $1 million for completing Segment D in an expedited manner.
Columbia Pike’s history dates to the early 1800s when, as the name suggests, it was a toll turnpike connecting the District of Columbia and areas west. Planning for a major renovation to the roadway as part of a larger revitalization of the corridor began in 2002, and until 2014 anticipated a streetcar system that would run from Pentagon City west into Fairfax County.
When County Board members killed off that project, they agreed to a major upgrade of the roadway to provide better options for all users, including the extensive Metrobus network that plies Columbia Pike.
