Its alignment runs from southeast to northwest and roughly corresponds to part of the once-proposed Outer Beltway around Washington, D.C.

[4] Jack Herrity served for 12 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and was instrumental in getting the road built.

During most of the parkway's life, the portion between Fullerton Road and SR 289 had not been constructed due to delay caused by environmental issues, including an oil spill along its path through the Fort Belvoir Proving Ground.

Just past Ox Road, SR 286 passes under Clara Barton Drive, a minor residential street.

The next interchange, at Lee Jackson Memorial Highway (US 50), is a partial cloverleaf with two signals on SR 286.

[7] From US 50 to Franklin Farm Road, the parkway curves northwest to reach the Outer Beltway right-of-way.

This straight path is followed until Baron Cameron Avenue (SR 606), and includes an overpass at Pinecrest Road in the Fox Mill Estates neighborhood.

The straight part of the Fairfax County Parkway between south of Franklin Farm Road and north of Baron Cameron Avenue is built where the beltway would have been.

[14][15] During the 1970s, attention was focused on the Metrorail system, and environmental concerns temporarily pushed the Outer Beltway onto the back burner.

A spur to Franconia was included, providing access to the Shirley Highway HOV lanes and the Franconia–Springfield Metrorail station.

Originally planned as an at-grade intersection, projections of increased traffic led to a redesign that required more right-of-way.

[39] The parkway was extended south from Sugarland Road to Wiehle Avenue (SR 828) on November 1, 2000.

[41] The gap between Walnut Branch and Sunset Hills was filled on November 5, 2001, finally completing the parkway north of Springfield.

[34][38] Plans were again postponed in the early 2000s due to necessary environmental cleanup of that part of Fort Belvoir, which included unexploded ordnance.

[43] The Environmental Protection Agency discovered in 2005 that an oil spill on the property had not been properly cleaned.