Four Democratic members of Virginia’s congressional delegation are calling on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to delay the move of 6,400 defense employees to the Mark Center — located at the already-congested intersection of I-395 and Seminary Road in Alexandria — by one year.
“The department [must] consider all options to avoid the severe disruptions to traffic that will affect the nearly 200,000 commuters including Army personnel who travel on I-395 daily,” wrote Reps. Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly along with Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner.
The lawmakers cite flaws in the Army’s Transportation Plan for implementing the federal Base Realignment and Closure recommendation, including the army’s refusal to examine the traffic effects of the relocation beyond 0.3 miles of the Mark Center.
The Department of Defense’s Inspector General released a report last month stating that the Army mishandled the selection of the Mark Center and recommended the Army complete a new traffic impact analysis.
Language included in the fiscal 2012 National Defense Authorization Act — which has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives — allows Gates to delay for up to a year the shifting of defense workers to new sites under BRAC.
Governor Bob McDonnell has also asked for a delay. The Army has committed to spending $20 million on short-term transportation improvements around the site.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will spend $80 million for a new off-ramp from HOV lanes on I-395, but construction will take between three to five years, and workers are slated to move to the site by mid-September.
