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State Route 123 (SR 123) or Virginia State Route 123 (VA 123) is a primary
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in the U.S. state of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. The state highway runs from
U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...
(US 1) in
Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of **Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...
north to the
Chain Bridge A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Construction types are, as for other suspensi ...
across the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
into
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
from
Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...
. It goes by five local names. From its southern terminus to the
Occoquan River The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties. The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the r ...
Bridge, it is known as Gordon Boulevard. From the Occoquan River Bridge to the city of Fairfax it is known as Ox Road. From Fairfax until it enters the Town of Vienna, it is known as Chain Bridge Road. Then, as it passes through the Town of Vienna, it is known as Maple Avenue. After leaving the Town of Vienna, the name reverts to Chain Bridge Road, and continues this way until the intersection with
I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for the following five Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virginia, Maryland, and a sliver ...
in Tysons. Between Tysons and the George Washington Memorial Parkway, it is known as Dolley Madison Boulevard. After crossing over the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the name once again reverts to Chain Bridge Road and continues this way until the end of the road, at Chain Bridge. SR 123 is a partial circumferential highway in
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
that connects Woodbridge in eastern
Prince William County Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...
with the
independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
of Fairfax and the
Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 census, it is the most populous county in Virginia, the most populous jurisdiction in the Washington ...
communities of
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, Tysons, and McLean, the last being the home of the
National Counterterrorism Center The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in Liberty Crossing in McLean, Virginia. The NCTC advises the United States ...
and the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. The state highway also connects all of the major highways that radiate from Washington, including
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
(I-95),
I-66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with Interstate 81 in Virginia, I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its w ...
,
US 29 U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United States, connect ...
,
US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
, SR 267, and the
George Washington Memorial Parkway The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a limited-access road, limited-access parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maint ...
. Furthermore, SR 123 crosses another pair of circumferential highways,
I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for the following five Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virginia, Maryland, and a sliver ...
and the
Fairfax County Parkway The Fairfax County Parkway, numbered State Route 286 (SR 286, formerly SR 7100), is a primary State highways in Virginia, state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia, acting as an Limited-access highway, expressway in Fairfax Coun ...
, and SR 7, a major northwest–southeast highway through Northern Virginia. The state highway is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length.


Route description

SR 123 begins at an intersection with US 1 (Richmond Highway) between the Woodbridge station serving
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
and the
Fredericksburg Line The Fredericksburg Line is a commuter rail service operated by Virginia Railway Express between Washington, D.C., and Olive, Virginia. Virginia Railway Express operates 8 weekday trains, and Amtrak trains serve a few of the stations on the line ...
of
Virginia Railway Express Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksbur ...
station and US 1's bridge over the Occoquan River in Woodbridge. The state highway heads north as Gordon Boulevard, a four- to six-lane divided highway. SR 123 meets I-95 at a
partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
that contains a reversible ramp to and from the Interstate's
HOV lanes A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...
in the direction of Washington. There is no access from southbound I-95 to southbound SR 123; that movement is provided indirectly via I-95's interchange with US 1 across the river in Fairfax County. The Route 123 and I-95 Commuter Lot, a
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
facility, is located within the southeast quadrant of this interchange. Past the interchange, the route heads east of the Occoquan Commuter Lot park and ride. The state highway passes through the eastern edge of the town of Occoquan and crosses the Occoquan River on a six-lane bridge. SR 123 continues into Fairfax County as Ox Road, which passes through the western part of Lorton. The state highway passes by the former
Lorton Reformatory The Lorton Reformatory, also known as the Lorton Correctional Complex, is a former prison complex in Lorton, Virginia, established in 1910 for the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States. The complex began as a prison farm cal ...
and reduces to four lanes north of SR 611 (Furnace Road). SR 123 passes northwest along the edge of the suburban communities of Laurel Hill, Crosspointe, and South Run. The state highway serves the park surrounding Burke Lake, then veers north through a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) to the west of Burke Centre. SR 123 crosses over
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
's
Washington District The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria and Lynchburg. Most of the line was built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, while a small portion in th ...
rail line, which also carries the
Manassas Line The Manassas Line is a Virginia Railway Express commuter rail service that extends from Washington, D.C., to Bristow, Virginia. The first of VRE's two lines, with service beginning on June 22, 1992, the line operates on tracks owned by CSX Tran ...
of Virginia Railway Express, at Springfield. North of its intersection with SR 620 (Braddock Road), SR 123 passes along the west side of the campus of George Mason University, which includes the
EagleBank Arena EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C. Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patrio ...
. The university's athletic complex, including
George Mason Stadium George Mason Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Fairfax, Virginia on the campus of George Mason University. It serves as the home to George Mason's soccer and lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a ...
, lies to the west of the state highway south of its intersection with University Drive, which heads east onto the campus as SR 383. North of University Drive, SR 123 enters the city of Fairfax and its name changes to Chain Bridge Road. The highway becomes undivided north of Judicial Drive; the state highway passes the Barbour House, the
Historic Fairfax County Courthouse The Historic Fairfax County Courthouse is one of the oldest buildings in Fairfax, Virginia, the City of Fairfax, Virginia. It was constructed in 1799 to serve as the seat of government in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County. During the Ameri ...
, and the Fairfax County offices and judicial center. North of SR 236 (Main Street), SR 123 reduces to two lanes and passes through an S-curve, then heads through a residential area before expanding to a four-lane divided highway at its intersection with US 29 and US 50 (Fairfax Boulevard). SR 123 leaves the city of Fairfax at its partial cloverleaf interchange with I-66; the interchange includes a flyover ramp from westbound I-66 to southbound SR 123. The state highway curves northeast through
Oakton Oakton may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places United States * Oakton, Georgia, a place in Georgia * Oakton, Kentucky, on Kentucky Route 58 * Oakton, Missouri *Oakton, Virginia Fictional *Oakton, the fictional setting of ''The Nut Job'' Other uses * Er ...
, then enters the town of Vienna and becomes four-lane undivided Maple Avenue just south of its intersection with SR 243 (Nutley Street). SR 123 intersects the Washington and Old Dominion Trail adjacent to the Vienna Town Green. The state highway becomes a divided highway named Chain Bridge Road again on leaving the town limits and entering Tysons, at the southwest edge of which SR 123 has a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 7 (Leesburg Pike). SR 123 expands to six lanes and begins to parallel
Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...
's Silver Line and intersects SR 684 (International Drive) before passing between a pair of shopping malls:
Tysons Galleria Tysons Galleria is a three-level super-regional mall owned by Brookfield Properties located at 2001 International Drive in Tysons, Virginia. It is the second-largest mall in Tysons, and one of the largest in the Washington metropolitan area. Hi ...
to the north and
Tysons Corner Center Tysons Corner Center is a large shopping mall in the unincorporated area of Tysons in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States (between McLean and Vienna, Virginia). It opened to the public in 1968, becoming one of the first fully enclosed, clim ...
to the south. At the eastern edge of Tysons, SR 123 passes under Westpark Drive has a
cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passe ...
with I-495 (Capital Beltway). The state highway, now named Dolley Madison Boulevard, follows the Silver Line northeast through office parks to a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 267 (Dulles Toll Road), which leads west to the Dulles Access Road (unsigned SR 90004) and
Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...
and east to I-66. There is no access from northbound SR 123 to westbound SR 267; that movement requires using I-495. North of the interchange, in the hamlet of Lewinsville, the state highway reduces to four lanes and intersects SR 694 (Lewinsville Road), which provides access to the National Counterterrorism Center. SR 123 passes through McLean, the center of which is accessed via SR 309 (Old Dominion Drive). East of the center of McLean, SR 123 passes by the preserved
Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...
estate and close to Hickory Hill—a historic house on Chain Bridge Road that was home to
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...
—in Langley, where the state highway meets the eastern end of SR 193 (Old Georgetown Pike). That state highway provides access to the
Claude Moore Colonial Farm Claude Moore Colonial Farm, originally Turkey Run Farm, was a U.S. park in Virginia re-creating and re-enacting life on a tenant farm circa 1771. The park closed permanently on December 21, 2018. The National Park Service was subsequently said ...
on the campus of the
George Bush Center for Intelligence The George Bush Center for Intelligence is the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), located in the unincorporated community of Langley in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, near Washington, D.C. The headquarters is a c ...
, the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. The agency's southern main entrance is on SR 123. East of its partial cloverleaf interchange with the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the state highway's name becomes Chain Bridge Road and reduces to two lanes as it descends into the valley of the Potomac River. SR 123 passes by the Marden House before entering the northwestern corner of Arlington County and meeting the northern end of SR 120 (Glebe Road). There, SR 123 turns north and crosses the Potomac River into Washington on the three-lane Chain Bridge, which leads to the
Clara Barton Parkway The Clara Barton Parkway is a parkway in the U.S. state of Maryland and Washington, D.C. The highway runs from MacArthur Boulevard in Carderock, Maryland, east to Canal Road at the Chain Bridge in Washington. The Clara Barton Parkway is a ...
into Maryland and Canal Road, which follows the river east to Georgetown.


History

SR 123, along with SR 120, was SR 25 until the 1933 renumbering and SR 9 from then until the 1940 renumbering. Fairfax County made proposals to upgrade the intersection between SR 123 and SR 620 to a full interchange. The designs considered were
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
, modified diamond, single-point urban interchange (SPUI), and tight SPUI.123 / Braddock Rd. Interchange Presentation
March 4, 2009 Retrieved November 29, 2009
Ultimately, one left turn lane in each direction of SR 123 was added at the intersection, the left turn lane on eastbound SR 620 was extended, and new traffic signals were installed. VDOT has drafted plans to create an interchange between SR 123 and US 1 in Woodbridge. However, due to budget cutbacks, the project has been put on hold.


Future


I-66 interchange

Due to work on I-66 in Fairfax County to add express lanes, SR 123 north's entrance to I-66 west was temporarily changed from a loop ramp entrance to a left-turn entrance. This has been removed. VDOT also worked on reconstructing the interchange when I-66 express lanes are complete. The existing interchange was converted to a parclo-interchange for access to the I-66 express lanes, and a diamond interchange for access to the non-tolled I-66 lanes, with left exits and entrances for each direction of non-tolled I-66. The reconstruction was completed by the end of 2022.


Bridge over SR 7

VDOT is currently working on improving the SR 123 bridges over SR 7. This would improve concrete-deck repairs, new asphalt overlay and paint jobs, and other repairs. The project is expected to cost $2.2 million and will be completed by end of 2020. VDOT started the project to help the bridge reach its expected lifespan, which is expected to be for 10-15 more years. Fairfax County planners are also researching possible new configurations of the intersection in the future. Options include a
quadrant roadway intersection A quadrant roadway intersection adds an additional "quadrant roadway" between two legs of an intersection (road), intersection. This roadway adds two three-way junction, three-way intersections in addition to the original four-way intersection, m ...
and a
continuous flow intersection A continuous flow intersection (CFI), also called a crossover displaced left-turn (XDL or DLT), is an alternative design for an at-grade road junction. Vehicles attempting to turn across the opposing direction of traffic (left in right-hand driv ...
. Fairfax County DOT has also considered building pedestrian space over the intersection, such as a park, to improve
walkability In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it s ...
in Tysons Corner.


Major intersections


References


External links


Virginia Highways Project: VA 123
{{Transit in NOVA
123 123 may refer to: * The first three positive Arabic numerals * 123 (number), the natural number following 122 and preceding 124 * AD 123, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD * 123 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * ...
State Route 123 State Route 123 State Route 123 State Route 123 State Route 123