Get your Kicks on Expanded I-66 Last month, I attended a public outreach session sponsored by Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne and specifically focused on the I-66 Corridor. The Commonwealth began work on I-66 in the mid-Sixties and completed it in the early Eighties. Today, it shoots like an arrow from the Shenandoah Valley, over Thoroughfare Gap, across Prince William (dipping south to avoid the Manassas Battlefield) and Fairfax, curls around Falls Church, and cuts through the heart of Arlington before terminating at the Roosevelt Bridge. Despite it central nature in northern Virginia, it has been a forgotten stepchild over the past ten years while most the funding and attention has gone to the Silver Line or Beltway projects such as “the Mixing Bowl” or “the HOT Lanes.” Meanwhile, the use of I-66 has continued to increase as communities expand geometrically, if not exponentially, in exurbs like Centreville, Gainesville and Haymarket. Today, nearly every weekday will find traffic backed up from Arlington to Rte. 15, which is about a thirty-mile stretch. And the weekends are no better. East of the intersection with 234 in Manassas, the highway is rated “F” for congestion. The highway has morphed from northern Virginia’s Main Street to its parking lot. For years, we have struggled with means to increase I-66′s capacity. In 1999, when I was a newly minted member of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, we considered an “MIS” plan for I-66 which included the expansion of the Orange Line and adding four additional driving lanes. That concept went up in smoke in the 2001-2002 recession. When the economy finally recovered, all attention was focused on “Rail to Dulles,” which seemed to suck up all the discretionary transportation funding for northern Virginia. The I-66 corridor was placed on the back burner. Towards the tail end of the McDonnell administration (and after multiple requests from folks like myself, Delegate LeMunyon and Supervisor Pat Herrity), the I-66 corridor was put back out for discussion. After years of inertia, an Environmental Impact Study was finally completed in November 2013 which set the stage for last month’s press event. The EIS proposal is not revolutionary. Basically, it envisions two additional express lanes, using “HOT lane” technology, along with a transit option (likely Bus Rapid Transit) on those dedicated lanes. New “park and ride” lots in Prince William and western Fairfax are planned. There is still no decision to widen the four lanes going directly through Arlington — so a major bottleneck will remain. VDOT has issued an “Request for Interest” to assess interest from private partners to build the additional lanes and improvements. So far, nineteen have responded. Presumably, their investment will be repaid by any toll revenue or fare box revenue from BRT. In addition, a public investment of $1-2 billion is assumed. The three questions from my point of view are as follows: 1. How soon can the ideas be implemented? 2. How much land will need to be acquired? 3. How much will it increase capacity and lessen congestion? The #2 question is of unique interest to me. I represent the north and south sides of I-66 from Dunn Loring through Fairfax City/Vienna. Then I represent the north side of the highway all the way to Centreville. So any additional right of way acquisition could impact hundreds of homeowners in the 34th Senate District. Either way, it’s critical to get the ball rolling on I-66.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 23:01:03 +0000
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