Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman wants the planned Route 7 bus rapid transit line built fast, telling regional leaders that speed matters more than branding.

"I don't care what you call it or how you sell it. The priority should be getting it done sooner rather than later," Bierman said at the Oct. 1 meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board of directors, as FFXnow first reported.

The Envision Route 7 project would run modern buses on dedicated lanes along Leesburg Pike through the heart of McLean and Tysons, connecting Tysons to Alexandria across 14 miles and four jurisdictions. The corridor is home to nearly 60,000 residents and more than 40 existing bus lines.

NVTC staffers have spent years studying the corridor.

That work is nearly finished. Attention is shifting to funding and coordination among Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church.

NVTC project manager Vikram Sinha acknowledged the complexity of working across jurisdictions at the Oct. 1 meeting, saying what works in one city may not work in another. Sinha has said the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) holds the most weight in the process because it owns the roadway through most of the route.

VDOT has begun planning to widen the Tysons portion of Route 7 to accommodate BRT without cutting regular travel lanes, according to FFXnow's July corridor report.

Bierman also pushed for near-term improvements to existing bus service and schedules to build ridership before the full system arrives. Metro's F20 line, the primary route along the corridor, already carries the highest ridership of any single bus line in Virginia.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who also sits on the NVTC board, echoed Bierman's urgency, saying coordination needs to happen quickly. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn called the project "a big deal."

NVTC Chair Sarah Bagley, who also serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City Council, pitched the Route 7 BRT as a model other Virginia regions could replicate. That framing is aimed at attracting state funding. NVTC executive director Kate Mattice said at a June 7 open house in Alexandria that Gov. Abigail Spanberger's administration has shown interest in the project.

Bierman and Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez have also lobbied congressional leaders in Washington on BRT funding, according to FFXnow's June reporting.

No cost estimate for the Route 7 BRT has been published. For comparison, Fairfax County's Richmond Highway BRT project carries an estimated price tag of about $937 million for 7.4 miles.

The NVTC board is scheduled to accept a staff report on the Envision Route 7 project in December, the next procedural step toward potential construction. NVTC officials said in July they aim to begin considering funding options for a full corridor upgrade by 2028.