214 transportation projects are needed in Fairfax County, but only some of these projects will receive funding. That's why the county created a survey to find out which transportations improvements citizens want the most. Projects with the most citizen support will be given higher priority for funding.

SFDC supports project #60: widening Richmond Highway from four to six lanes from Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to Napper Road (just south of Costco). Currently, businesses are reluctant to build and invest along this stretch because of the uncertainty that comes with not knowing when the road will one day be widened.

Richmond Highway north of this stretch is 6(+) lanes and the Highway south is already set to be widened to 6 lanes as part of the Fort Belvoir BRAC expansion. If Project #60 is not adopted, a bottleneck would result, causing more traffic congestion than we already have.

Take the 5 minute online survey to help Fairfax County prioritize transportation improvements.

Did you know that Richmond Highway is home to some of the best tacos in Northern Virginia? But if you're driving down the highway, you'd probably never find it.

La Mexicana Bakery & Taqueria is tucked away in the unassuming Mount Vernon Square shopping center, just south of the Hybla Valley Safeway. Mount Vernon Square is completely hidden from Richmond Highway by trees and a Liberty gas station, with the parking lot entrance off Arlington Drive. Although the stores are in need of a substantial facelift, don't let that prevent you from experiencing a Mexican lunch that blows typical chain restaurants out of the water. A little slice of Southern California is right here in Alexandria.

Owners Carlos and Alicia Benitez from Columbia and Mexico met and married in California, and discovered while vacationing in Virginia that there were very few high-quality Mexican restaurants and bakeries for Hispanics in our region. Noting the high demand and low supply for "real deal" Mexican food, Carlos and Alicia moved to Alexandria to embark on the journey of starting their own business.

"Latinos eat a lot of bread," said Carlos, "So we decided to open mainly a bakery and offer some Mexican food on the side." Twelve years later, it turns out their food became so popular that La Mexicana Bakery and Taqueria is best known for their outstanding tacos, burritos, papusas, tamales and tortas filled with high-quality, well-seasoned meat and fresh ingredients. If that's not enough to keep you coming back for more, the friendly and down-to-earth "mom and pop shop" service will certainly make you think twice before sitting down at a corporate chain for your Americanized fajitas.

How does a small, unassuming restaurant get discovered outside the local community? According to Carlos, the short answer is Yelp. Let's just say online customer reviews such as, "The last time I had Mexican food this good, I was at a taco stand in Mexico," don't go unnoticed.

While La Mexicana Bakery & Taqueria was originally intended to cater to the Hispanic community, over 85% of customers are non-Hispanic English speakers. Fort Belvoir military personnel, Fairfax County firefighters, families, business people and folks from all over the county supply a diverse customer base. "People visit us from all over the region," Carlos said. "Some customers travel from as far as West Virginia just to eat lunch here."

For those who say there isn't a decent place to eat lunch on Richmond Highway, sometimes the best spots just have to Get Found.

La Mexicana Bakery & Taqueria is open 11am - 8:30pm Monday through Saturday, and 11am - 5pm on Sundays.