Chain Bridge Road - Eaton Place Intersection Improvements
The City of Fairfax is designing improvements to the intersection of Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) and Eaton Place. City Council endorsed the recommended design on April 11, 2023.
Planned Improvements
The city plans to keep the intersection signalized but reconfigure the approaches to improve traffic flow and safety on Chain Bridge Road. The plan will leverage the new signal north of Eaton Place to relieve pressure from the primary intersection at Eaton Place and Chain Bridge Road. The frontage road signals on Chain Bridge Road will be removed, thereby simplifying the intersection.
The intersection improvements can be completed using $10.7M awarded from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Recommended Design Endorsed by City CouncilExisting Condition
Chain Bridge Road is a National Highway System route and serves 39,000 vehicles per day. The intersection with Eaton Place experiences significant congestion due to its current operation with eight signal phases (including four separate side street phases) to control movements at seven legs.
The intersection is a critical component of the regional transportation network, with access ramps to I-66 located north of the intersection. Traffic is expected in increase along Chain Bridge Road with the addition of the I-66 Express Lanes access points.

Please use the tools below to comment on CBR-Eaton 30% Plans and ask questions.
The original Engage Fairfax page for this project can be viewed at https://engage.fairfaxva.gov/chain-bridge-road-eaton-place-intersection-improvements. The page was closed after the city council endorsed the recommended design in April 2023.
Comments
I believe this project will enhance safety for both pedestrians and automobiles. It also will promote walking and biking between neighborhoods and between regions. Hopefully, detailed traffic studies will dictate intersection movements and traffic controls that will prevent any congestion to occur for Cobbdale residents.
Please rethink this plan, it will create a congestion nightmare for the residents of Cobbdale during higher car activity in and out of Cobbdale. You are not leaving nearly enough room for car back up at the new proposed light and this will create so many more issues than you think. If you lived here like I do, you would know that this plan will not work for us with all the cut through traffic we get all day long and especially during rush hour.
For example,
1) The length of the street leading to the new light going out of Cobbdale only allows for about 3-4 cars in each lane from Norman Ave to the proposed new light. If this is full with cars (it is usually about 3-4 cars deep getting out of the neighborhood now at the Eaton/Chain Bridge light during lighter traffic times), the cars coming out of the Assembly neighborhood that need to either get to Eaton or just go left on Chain Bridge (I know they can turn right with the new plan but this doesn't help much), will have to stop and wait at the intersection of Norman Ave until there is room to move forward. This will also stop cars who are entering the Cobbdale neighborhood and wanting to turn left on Norman Ave.
2) Also cars coming into the Cobbdale neighborhood will have to wait to get past all the traffic at the light just to go straight onto Oak Place since their path leads right by the light. Yes, they could turn left on Norman Ave, then right on Burrows and then left again on Oak Place but this is really a round about way to get home. Also, Oak place near the new proposed light could be backed up by several cars trying to get out of the neighborhood.
3) And who gets right of way for cars coming from Oak Place to get out of the neighborhood via the new light? Which way has to yield for the other way?
4) If there is not enough room for cars exiting the new proposed light to turn right on Chain Bridge (this busy road is always really backed up), this will intensify the car back up inside the Cobbdale neighborhood trying to get out.
Please don't do this, I walked door to door in the Cobbdale neighborhood to get opinions on this new plan 4 years ago and 80% of the residents who signed the petition regarding this plan definitely did not want it. We have told you over and over during the several meetings about this that we do not want this. We would really appreciate you leaving things as they are and use the money for much needed sidewalks which poses a bigger safety issue than the way the streets are now around our neighborhood.
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