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News Briefs
Walker Road Bridge Closure Schedule
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VDOT has informed Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) on the upcoming Walker Road Bridge closure schedule in association with the bridge expansion project. The current plan for the following weekend closures:
These weekend closures are needed to complete foundation work, including driving piles, in preparation for placing the bridge structure that is planned in July. Message boards will be placed at the site beginning May 19 to notify the public of the upcoming weekend closures, and VDOT will also send out public notifications. The contractor will be on site this weekend (5/17 and 5/18) and will have one lane of alternating traffic via a flagging operation. |
Potomac Interceptor Rehabilitation of MH-31
Update Flow Conversion Work
DC Water has notified Great Falls Citizens Association that beginning as early as Tuesday, July 7, 2025,they will initiate the flow conversion process near 93 River Park Lane. This work may result in odors in the surrounding area. To help mitigate this impact, DC Water has installed multiple odor mitigation fans, and their odor control facility will be operating continuously, 24/7.
DC Water is committed to completing this phase as efficiently and safely as possible. The process is expected to take approximately 8 weeks.
If you have questions or concerns, contact:
DC Water | Engineering & Technical Services
Tijuana Hayes
M: (202) 751-7901
2025 Annual Report
Per the GFCA bylaws, the 2025 annual report summary and budget overview is now available: (click here to access the report) It was a dynamic and robust year with special attention to the Leigh Mill Road Bridge gas spill and clean up, the Walker Road bridge construction closures and the Potomac Interceptor wastewater pipe break mitigation efforts at Manhole 31. The GFCA welcomed many new members to the board with significant experience with community issues and continued an ongoing and productive engagement with Supervisor Bierman and VDOT on many issues including the recent limit on truck size to forty feet in length on Leigh Mill Road. GFCA’s Special Committee on Schools continued close collaboration with the Fairfacts Matters Foundation’s mission on the school boundary redistricting initiative currently ongoing by the Fairfax County School Board. The GFCA also expanded communication outlets with our membership and community in an effort to reach a larger audience and share the issues that impact our residents.
Interactive FCPS School Boundary Community Engagement
Meetings
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GFCA Members: Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has accelerated the community review of its initial boundary change options/scenarios. This is FCPS’ Phase 2 (Part 1 of 2). There is an opportunity to participate in-person, or virtually, at various schools or by Zoom. You must register at FCPS Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage. FCPS has an interactive “FCPS Boundary Review Scenario Explore” tool. You can try it on-line now. You can enter your street address and view how the proposed “initial”boundary change scenarios that would impact where your students will go to school. These initial scenarios include fixing “attendance island” schools, “split feeder” schools, and “overcrowded” schools. FCPS plans to update the boundary change scenarios over the summer of 2025. The GFCA Special Committee on School remains concerned that FCPS is not correctly forecasting the potential number of additional students coming from new housing developments (apartments, townhouses, and condos) 3-to-5 years from now. Not having the correct data could lead to unnecessary or poor boundary change decisions. As FCPS proposes to fix “attendance island” schools, “split feeder” schools, and overcrowded schools, Langley HS could reach 100+% capacity. That could force the need to adjust Langley HS boundaries. |
TRN Breaking News: Leigh Mill
Leigh Mill Road is now open to thru traffic as of June 24,2025
On April 29th, Supervisor Bierman contacted GFCA to tell us that the Virginia Department3 of Transportation (VDOT) has agreed to limit the size of trucks allowed to travel on Leigh Mill Road to forty feet in length. This is very welcome news to all who regularly drive on Leigh Mill Road. There are four ninety degree turns on this very narrow historic road and the safety of drivers and the one lane bridge have often been compromised by long tractor trailer trucks using this route.
The morning of the recent tank truck accident at the Leigh Mill bridge, GFCA contacted Supervisor Bierman’s office to request that he schedule a meeting for GFCA with VDOT to request this restriction. He immediately set that in motion. He also requested that Senator5 Boysko and Delegate Sullivan attend the meeting. After some scheduling delays, Supervisor Bierman received notice today (April 29, 2025) that the meeting was no longer necessary because they have agreed to his request.
The following is from the email confirmation sent to Supervisor Bierman:
“As you noted in the original email below, the primary reason for the meeting was to discuss the concerns with truck use and the potential to restrict large trucks from Leigh Mill Road. After the incident on April 3, VDOT began an investigation of the site, and we have determined that a restriction on trucks over 40 feet in length is appropriate at this location. The restriction will be implemented in the field once the signs are fabricated and sign placement has been scheduled. We expect that the sign fabrication will take approximately 90 days, and placement will occur this summer."
Thank you Supervisor Bierman!
New Unified Sanitation Districts
Transforming Residential Waste Collection
Update
The Board of Supervisors has delayed the public hearing on the Unified Sanitation District (residential trash and recycling collection) to October 14.
The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) has been conducting a marketing campaign about Unified Sanitation Districts. They have published a website covering frequently asked questions that seems to be regularly updated with new information.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/unified-sanitation-districts
Matt Adams, lead on the project, spoke again about the program on the EnviroPod podcast. He noted that working out all of the details of the Unified Sanitation Districts (including the district boundaries, services, and contract models) will likely take the full 5-year period. They are deferring some of the detailed analysis until the county decides to move forward with this model, which is planned to be voted on by the Board of Supervisors, after the October 14 public hearing.
The public hearing will be at the Fairfax Government Center Board Auditorium, located at 12000 Government Center Parkway on Tuesday, October 14. Instructions on ways to provide testimony in person, in writing, by phone or by video is available at: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/clerkservices/ways-provide-public-hearing-testimony
DPWES is also encouraging anyone with comments to submit input to USDfeedback@publicinput.com. The website states that DPWES will review the input and share all feedback with the Board of Supervisors prior to the October public hearing.
The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services hosted a virtual town hall on May 27 to discuss the proposed Unified Sanitation Districts (USD) with the Dranesville District. View the recording here.
Upcoming events
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Our goal is to preserve the semi-rural character of our community while addressing practical concerns like traffic, zoning, retail, schools, parks and the environment where problems arise and solutions must be found. Since Great Falls is not an incorporated municipality like the Town of Vienna, or City of Falls Church, we lack a town/city government to represent our local interests. The GFCA acts in an unofficial capacity to represent the voices of the citizens of Great Falls on these matters, and works with county, state, and national government to get things done. On Great Falls issues, no other organization has GFCA’s influence with elected leaders at the County and State level, or is as respected by them. Our charter calls for GFCA to "serve as a community organization to promote all aspects of community interest accruing to a common good and, in general, to preserve the historic, low density, semi-rural character of Great Falls and its natural resources."
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