Vacation Lane & Lorcom Lane Intersection Improvements Project

New: All-way Stop

The all-way stop has been installed at the intersection of Lorcom Lane and Vacation Lane. Please be patient as drivers adjust to the new traffic pattern.

Location

Lorcom Lane, Arlington, VA 22207 View Map

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Status

Complete

Construction is substantially complete and the all-way stop is now in place as of late August 2026.Please be patient as drivers adjust to the new traffic pattern.

Construction Update

Construction will begin in early August, starting with tree and plant protection before continuing work. One lane and one crosswalk will be closed at the intersection in any given direction, and flaggers will direct traffic. Temporary crosswalks on Lorcom Lane will be installed for pedestrian detours.

Parking will not be removed as part of the final condition of the project, but parking may be temporarily removed to accommodate the temporary crosswalks on Lorcom Lane.

Work hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 4: p.m. on weekdays.

About the Project

Project Scope

Add stop signs at each corner of the intersection
Add mountable medians on Lorcom Lane, which will help visually narrow the road and discourage speeding while maintaining the turn radius for buses traveling through the intersection
Extend the north curb south corner curbs and ramps to meet current standards (the other corners were improved in recent years)

Project Goals

Improve intersection safety for people walking, biking, taking transit and driving at this busy intersection in a school walk zone by giving all users time to stop and assess their surroundings before proceeding
Update sidewalks and pedestrian ramps to meet the most recent accessibility standards

Background

In 2023, County transportation staff received several requests for a Transportation / Safety Investigation through the County's Report A Problem application from residents and parents of Dorothy Hamm students, raising issues about safety at the intersection for people walking through the intersection. Common themes of these submissions included:

Noting that drivers often failed to yield to people crossing the street at this intersection
Reporting high vehicle speeds on Lorcom Lane through this intersection
Requesting additional traffic control devices

Planning Basis

Planning guidance from this project comes from the following County Board-adopted plans and policies:

Master Transportation Plan

Streets Element: Calls for Complete Streets improvements across the county’s transportation network, especially on arterial roads, to serve all road users.
Pedestrian Element: Calls for projects to improve walkways and increase walking for transportation with high-quality facilities

Vision Zero Action Plan

Calls for Capital Projects to address safety issues that can lead to severe and fatal crashes as part of the Countywide effort to eliminate severe injuries and fatalities from our transportation network by 2030.

Public Process

Summer 2026 - Final Concept Design

Our initial concept was a raised intersection, designed to reduce vehicle speeds and improve pedestrian safety, particularly for students traveling to and from school. However, as detailed design work got underway, we discovered space and grading constraints at this location that would have prevented the raised intersection from performing as intended. Rather than move forward with a solution unlikely to deliver results, we stepped back and re-evaluated.

We are now proposing an enhanced All-Way Stop design, which pairs all-way stop control with a median and additional traffic-calming features. While an all-way stop would not typically be warranted at this intersection on its own, combined with these complementary elements it represents a practical, effective approach to reducing vehicle speeds and protecting pedestrians, the same goals that guided our initial design.

Construction is anticipated to begin in early August and take approximately 2 to 4 weeks, with most of the work completed before the start of the 2026–2027 school year.

We know this intersection is important to many families in the community, and we are committed to getting this right. If you have questions about the project or design, please don't hesitate to reach out to Zuhra Malik at zmalik@arlingtonva.us.

View the final concept design(PDF, 939KB).

Learn more by viewing our Frequently Asked Questions(PDF, 257KB).

Spring 2025 - Preliminary Concept Design Engagement

Engagement Summary(PDF, 2MB)

DES transportation staff developed a preliminary concept design that addresses the issues identified with the intersection today and delivers on the goals for this project, and are now seeking public input on the concept design.

This concept was developed using the feedback we received in constituent reports via Report a Problem, along with planning guidance, safety and operational data, and field observations by our project team.

Concept Design - Lorcom and Vacation Raised Intersection (Overhead).png

The concept design features a raised intersection, which functions similarly to a speed hump or speed cushion by bringing the level of the asphalt through the intersection up to the same level as the sidewalk.

Concept Design - Lorcom and Vacation Raised Intersection (Perspective).png

View a larger version of this concept design rendering(PDF, 8MB)

Public Feedback

A summary of what we hear is available below. The project team will use this feedback to refine the design and develop a final concept to advance for engineering and construction.

Engagement Summary(PDF, 2MB)

How We Gathered This Input

The online feedback form linked below contains additional details about the project and how we developed the preliminary concept design. This online form was open through June 17, 2025.

English | Spanish

Project staff were also in attendance at the Northern Arlington Infrastructure Projects Open House event on May 20, hosted at Dorothy Hamm Middle School. Staff shared more details about the project, gathered input from attendees there and provided a link to the online feedback form.

Concept Design

During the course of public engagement, the project team received several questions related to the proposed design concept. These questions and their answers can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document linked below.

Frequently Asked Questions(PDF, 219KB)

2024 - Transportation Engineering & Operations Analysis

As part of project, Arlington County Transportation staff assessed this intersection for additional traffic control devices, including:

A full traffic signal
A Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB), formerly called a High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) signal
A Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB)
All-way stop signs

The engineering assessment by Transportation Engineering & Operations bureau staff concluded that:

The intersection does not meet Federal warrants or County standards for a full traffic signal
The intersection does not meet Federal warrants or the county's standards for a PHB, because it is not a multilane roadway and is not a mid-block location
The intersection ranks low in the County's prioritization of RRFB installations
The intersection does not meet federal warrants or County standards for all-way stop signs

Following the completion of this analysis, project staff looked for other ways to address the issues present at this intersection.