When the Washington region’s top transportation experts were asked to identify the top performance-based “game-changing” projects they thought would do the most to increase mobility over the next 20 years, a majority cited, in order: 1) constructing two new bridges over the Potomac River; 2) improving the reliability and safety of the existing Metro system; and 3) establishing a regional bus rapid transit network. However, three out of four of these experienced engineers, transportation administrators and urban planners agreed that there is currently no such list in the Washington metropolitan region, where political posturing and parochial NIMBYism have long held sway. The study — commissioned by the 2030 Group, a private-sector coalition of business and academic leaders and conducted by the Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliances — also identified other key transportation projects that would deliver the most bang for each transportation buck by focusing on reducing travel time, relieving congestion and keeping costs down.
In Northern Virginia, they recommended expanding Interstate 66 capacity inside and outside the Capital Beltway, constructing new limited-access corridors connecting Loudoun and Prince William counties, and widening I-95/395 as part of a regionwide HOV/HOT/BRT network. In Suburban Maryland, it was widening and linking I-495 and I-270 to Virginia’s improved HOV/HOT/BRT network and running the Corridor Cities Transitway from Shady Grove to Clarksburg and the Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that these real-world solutions to address long-standing mobility issues have not been implemented because politicians are in charge of the process. It’s ironic that of all places, the policy-driven, expert-quoting Washington region has not bothered to ask its own transportation professionals how to fix its basic problem. “Regional planning doesn’t happen any more. Nobody else is even asking these questions,” the experts lamented.
One can quibble endlessly about specific priorities. For example, highway proponents won’t want to spend more money on a mismanaged Metro system, while transit aficionados will likely resist building needed bridges. But there’s no debating the deleterious results of the current politically-driven approach. Our region is now tied for the worst traffic congestion in the nation, costing the average D.C. commuter about $1,555 per year and the region $4 billion to $5 billion annually in wasted fuel and lost productivity. With 1.2 million more people expected here by 2030, it’s time we started listening to the pros.
