Two-Year Transportation Program

A two-year program outlines priorities for projects over the next 2-10 years. The funding application and project development cycle is a long process in Virginia, and in order to be considered for many sources of public funding allocated in one, two or even six years, the City has to apply now. While we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves in terms of planning, we also do not want to miss the opportunity to receive public dollars for important projects.

View the transportation project “road map,”(PDF, 3MB) an overview of the project development life cycle.

Every two years, the City develops a list of transportation projects that we are interested in submitting for funding consideration including bicycle, pedestrian, trail, transit, intersection, and roadway projects. The list also includes concept studies to determine the technical feasibility of and public support for concepts that may be submitted for funding in future years. Project priorities are informed by recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan and other policy documents, funding eligibility requirements and opportunities, and public feedback.

We need to think strategically about what projects will help improve livability in the City and make our commutes more predictable. Since it can take several years to fund and construct a project, we also need to think about what we might need in in the future.

As we think about this program, consider the facts below:

The region is expected to grow by more than 1 million people in the next 20 years.

Traffic in northern Virginia is already congested, and thousands of regional travelers pass through Fairfax each day in addition to local traffic that relies on major city corridors.

We have limited space and cannot expect to build our way out of congestion, but we can make improvements to provide more options and increase the reliability of our roadway system.

Around 20% of trips in the region involve commuting; the rest involve trips to help us meet our other daily needs, such as shopping, socializing, and running errands. Some projects may improve our commutes while others could help with the rest of our trips.

Around 1/3 of all trips in the region are less than a mile, and currently more than half of these short trips are driven. Some projects could provide more options to walk, bike, or take transit for these short trips instead of requiring a car.

As we develop each two-year program we consider these and other factors in our project prioritization.

There are many different sources of transportation funds. Each has different specifications such as:

• Project eligibility requirements
• Application timelines (annual, biannual)
• Funding available (1, 2, 6 or 7 years in the future)
• Local match requirement
• Complexity of application
• Source of funds (federal, state, regional)
• Funding maximum

Following is a graphic illustrating the two-year timeline for transportation funding.

Some funding applications occur annually; others occur bi-annually. Funding applications that are due in odd calendar years are shown on the top half of the circle, and applications due in even calendar years are shown on the bottom half of the circle. Each funding source is represented by a unique color band.

Two-Year Transportation Program Project Prioritization

1. Projects with partial funding
2. Projects with concept planning complete and now ready for implementation
3. New projects

There are more potential projects than we can feasibly include in any two-year program, so we prioritize which projects to pursue with public input, City Council input, and staff recommendations. Higher priority is given to projects with partial funding or concept planning before new projects are prioritized. 

To view the status of ongoing transportation projects, visit the Projects page.

• City Council Work Session: October 3, 2017
• City Council Work Session: June 25, 2019
• City Council Work Session: June 1, 2021
• City Council Work Session: June 6, 2023
• City Council Work Session: February 18, 2025