A provision added to the 2012 defense authorization act would give Defense Secretary Robert Gates the authority to delay the Army’s move to the Mark Center in Alexandria, something local officials said is needed to prevent traffic gridlock around the site. The House Armed Services Committee, working into the wee hours of Thursday morning, approved the provision after the Pentagon told Virginia officials that it didn’t have the authority to delay moving 6,400 defense workers to the site near the intersection of Interstate 395 and Seminary Road by Sept. 15. That deadline was set by a military base-closing commission and could only be altered by Congress.
The committee’s provision would allow Gates to delay the moves of up to seven Base Realignment and Closure projects for up to a year — until Sept. 15, 2012.
Local and state officials in Virginia argued that the move to Mark Center had to be delayed until road improvements could be made around the site to handle the thousands of additional daily commuters on already congested highways.
The legislation also could allow Gates to delay shifting operations of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda and the shifting of 22,000 workers to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, where a new hospital is under construction.
With only a few months left before the move-in deadline, however, time has become an issue. Congress must still pass the authorization bill. Gates would then have to agree that the delays are necessary and file a detailed request to Congress explaining the reasons a delay is needed and how much that delay would cost the military.
Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., wrote to Gates Thursday urging a delay at Mark Center and noting that traffic became an issue because the Army chose a site that doesn’t have access to public transportation and conducted a flawed traffic study that showed the new offices would not cause traffic problems.
“Our hope is that the secretary will be supportive of the delay and take proactive steps while the legislative process works its will,” Moran said. “My understanding is that they know they need the extra time to complete all the BRAC recommendations, particularly Mark Center.”
A year’s delay would not be enough time to finish all the short-term transportation improvements necessary to alleviate traffic around the Mark Center. Those changes, including additional turn lanes and a high-occupancy-vehicle ramp from the interstate, are expected to take three to five years to complete.
The bill is expected to be up for a House vote in a few weeks.
Lt. Col. Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman, declined to comment while Congress is still considering the legislation.
