Feedback due Friday on Fairfax Connector route to replace WMATA’s 29W

Fairfax Connector Route 835 would provide service between Braeburn Drive and the Pentagon

Public input is due this Friday on proposed service changes to Fairfax Connector routes, including a Pentagon Express route that would replace Metrobus 29W, which WMATA plans to eliminate this summer.

Ahead of Friday’s deadline, community leaders were posting to neighborhood Facebook groups and email lists trying to rally residents to take the survey, which is available here.

Metrobus 29W, which WMATA has been seeking to eliminate for several years, connects Annandale commuters to the Pentagon and has several stops in Braddock District neighborhoods. The proposed Fairfax Connector replacement route, Pentagon Express Route 835, seeks to replicate the 29W and would provide rush hour service every 30 minutes from Braeburn Drive.

“Route 835 should act as a model for Fairfax Connector, allowing hundreds of residents to commute car free and in turn alleviate traffic in some of the most congested parts of the county,” Chris Johnson, an Ilda resident, wrote in an email to his neighbors encouraging them to take the survey. Johnson started a Facebook page in 2019 seeking to save the 29W route.

“Since this proposed route (835 / Pentagon Express) goes directly through multiple neighborhoods, it allows hundreds of families access to public transportation by walking from their home, which in turn prevents hundreds of cars from being added to Braddock Road and Little River Turnpike right before they meet the Beltway during peak rush hours,” Johnson added.

Here’s a list of four other proposed Fairfax Connector routes that would replace routes being eliminated by WMATA:

• Route 803 – Annandale Rd.: This route would replace Metrobus 3A and operate 7-days a week. Weekday rush hour service would operate every 30 minutes, non-rush hour service would improve to every 40 minutes, and weekend service would improve to every 45 minutes. The service operates from Seven Corners on weekends.

• Route 834 -Annandale: This route would replace Metrobus 29C, providing rush hour service only every 30 minutes (westbound in A.M. and eastbound in P.M.) and will make schedule adjustments to improve efficiency and performance.

• Route 703 – Pimmit Hills: This route would replace Metrobus 3T and provide service between the West Falls Church Metrorail and McLean Metrorail stations, operating Monday–Friday + Saturday

• Route 715- Chain Bridge Rd.: This route would replace Metrobus 15K on weekdays only. The first southbound trip starts at Langley and would eliminate a section of the current Metrobus 15K route between Rosslyn and Langley.

Additional information on the proposed service changes is here.