Mark Center project
» Mixed-use park near Interstate 395 in Alexandria
» Two site garages containing nearly 4,000 spaces
» One 15-story building and one 17-story building, plus a public transportation center
» Would employ more than 6,400 Defense Department personnel.
» Is scheduled for completion by Sept. 15, 2011, as mandated by the 2005 BRAC legislation.
Source: Belvoir New Vision
Direct access from Interstate 395 to Alexandria’s Mark Center will be needed to accommodate an anticipated crush of traffic when the complex is finished, according to a new report. The Mark Center, a mixed-use business park, is slated to add a Department of Defense office project in 2011 as part of the military’s Base Realignment and Closure plan. The complex plans include two multistory office buildings, two parking garages, a public Transportation Center and other support facilities. The project is expected to bring 6,400 new jobs to the city.
The study by the transportation consulting group Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. also found that additional turn lanes on Seminary Road and Beauregard Street are necessary to accommodate future traffic — but still won’t be enough.
“Providing direct access to the full Mark Center site from I-395 is needed to accommodate the future site-generated traffic even with the addition of the … left turn lane improvements,” wrote City Manager James K. Hartmann in a memo to the city council, summarizing the study. “The local roadway network will not operate to a satisfactory urban level of service … without this additional interstate access improvement.”
The council on Tuesday is set to weigh the construction permits for the improvements to Seminary and Beauregard, which it had postponed in June until the analysis was completed. The council endorsed the idea of direct access to I-395 in June.
“We absolutely knew transportation and access would be [among] the more critical issues,” said Stephanie Landrum, vice president of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership and an alternate on the BRAC-133 advisory committee. “Our transportation and transit folks are very involved.”
Chris Gay, who helped prepare the transportation study, said that even if a ramp to I-395 is approved, it probably wouldn’t be completed in time for the opening of the complex in 2011. One interim solution would be to expedite the additional left-turns project and then construct the ramps by 2013, the report said.
Montgomery County is facing similar issues with BRAC and road capacity, with the anticipated move of 2,500 additional hospital employees to the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center on Route 355. A September report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative arm, projected that immediate costs to deal with traffic problems created by BRAC would be at least $2 billion nationwide.
