Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Six-Year Program Choosing Wisely Now, More Important than Ever

The Virginia General Assembly’s*recent diversion of more than $100 million per year in regional and local funds to Metro makes it more important than ever for the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to choose wisely in selecting highway and transit investments for its FY 2018-23 Six Year Program (SYIP).

In May 10^th testimony before the Authority, the Alliance stated, “Fewer regional funds mean that the Authority must be more selective and, therefore, must assign an even greater weight to congestion reduction and travel time saving factors.”

“Important as bike trails, sidewalks, local bus service and similar projects are to individual communities, too many projects submitted by local governments simply move too few people,” the Alliance testified. These are clearly local responsibilities that should not be consuming scarce regional funds.

Most of the Alliance-endorsed projects are currently recommended for SYIP funding or being funded by other sources.  They include:

• Fairfax County Parkway Widening ( Lee Hwy. to West Ox Rd.)
• Northstar Blvd (Shreveport to Tall Cedars)
• Route 28 Widening
  • Northbound — Rt. 50 to McLearen and Dulles Toll Road to Sterling Blvd.
  •  City of Manassas to Fairfax County Line Feasibility Study EIS.
  • Route 29 to Prince William County line.
• Route 234 /Brentsville Road Interchange.
• US 1 Widening (Mt. Vernon Memorial Hwy. to Napper Road)
• US 15 Bypass Widening (Battlefield Parkway to Montresor Road)
• Virginia Railway Express – Woodbridge Station and Occoquan Third Track Improvements.

Also included on the list of recommended projects is another longstanding Alliance priority – US Rt 1/Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit, Phases I & II.

To read the entire Alliance statement, click here.

The Authority is scheduled to vote to adopt its Six-Year Plan on June 14th.

*Note: Most Northern Virginia legislators voted for/favored an approach that would be less dependent upon existing regional/local funds.