Fairfax County officials say they will join Alexandria’s leaders in the battle to prevent potentially disastrous gridlock on Interstates 395 and 95 when 6,400 workers relocate to a new military complex.
The Department of Defense plans to relocate the workers to Alexandria’s Mark Center in September 2011 as part of its Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, program. The Mark Center lacks direct access to Metrorail and major local roadways, so the move is almost certain to cause severe traffic congestion on portions of I-95/395, which runs near the center.
Fairfax officials until now have hovered on the periphery of the planning process, instead focusing their attention on the BRAC-related traffic issues expected at Fort Belvoir.
But last month the Virginia Department of Transportation’s half-dozen proposals — including a Fairfax-backed solution — were deemed unworkable, and county officials realized it was time to focus on the Mark Center.
“Originally this was looked at like, ‘Oh, this is an Alexandria issue,’ ” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova. “We were engaged, but we weren’t really a partner on this.”
But when VDOT’s proposals fell apart, Supervisor Jeff McKay said he and his fellow board members realized it was time to play a bigger role.
“We’re going to meet with Alexandria officials this week and have a discussion about where they’re going, where their head is,” said McKay, D-Lee District.
The Fairfax Board of Supervisors on Tuesday also agreed to send a letter to Alexandria’s city council pledging the board’s support and the county’s commitment to developing new solutions.
“We’ve agreed to have a frank discussion to address our shared concerns,” said Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille.
Federal officials are also taking steps to address the Mark Center problems.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Alexandria, has moved to cap the number of available parking spaces allowed at the Mark Center in an effort to reduce the number of drivers jamming area roads.
“The Pentagon dropped the ball on transportation planning for the base realignment at the Mark Center,” Moran said, adding that he was “pulling out all the stops” to address the traffic issues.
