Two-thirds of Northern Virginians believe regional prioritization is the best approach to transportation planning, according to a 2005 survey. It would not be surprising to find similar results in the District and Maryland as well, since so many Washington area commuters cross many jurisdictional lines each day.
Alas, that kind of big-picture planning is still not done at the state level. As former Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Philip Shucet said in a recent op-ed in the Roanoke Times: “Right now, transportation planning occurs in pockets around the state. … There is no governing body reviewing these plans from a high-level viewpoint and asking, ‘What do these plans do in aggregate to improve Virginia’s mobility?’ ”
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Shucet was appointed by former Gov. Mark Warner and did an outstanding job at VDOT; he’s not a politician, an ideologue, or a tool for developers, but a well-respected expert who calls the 14.5 million hours lost to traffic congestion in Northern Virginia every year “the cruelest kind of robbery.”
Instead of taking the bird’s-eye view, however, the Commonwealth Transportation Board refuses to insist on a Western Bypass to get interstate traffic off the Beltway and other local highways. The Western Bypass is one of our region’s “missing links,” roads that were planned as far back as the 1950s because transportation experts knew then that projects like the Beltway could not handle likely growth even under the most optimistic scenarios.
A joint 1988 study commissioned by former Govs. Doug Wilder of Virginia and Maryland’s William Donald Schaefer concluded that an Outer Beltway was a critical need because they knew the region’s outer suburban growth was inevitable. As Shucet points out, “In Northern Virginia, a western or eastern bypass (or both) could reduce congestion on I-95, while improving interstate travel to destinations beyond the greater metropolitan area.”
So why isn’t there a bypass? In 1997, state and local officials finally agreed on a 50-mile route from Interstate 95 south of Quantico to Route 7 near Leesburg. In 2000, the CTB approved an $11.2 million environmental study — and then suspended it in 2003 under pressure from environmental and historic preservation groups. In 2004, the commonwealth unsuccessfully solicited private bids for a project it obviously had no intention of building. So out-of-towners and tractor trailers continue to clog I-95 and the Capital Beltway, adding to the congestion and pollution that degrades the quality of life for all local residents.
Instead of paving over land valued for its scenic views and historical significance, how about using new technology — like the large-bore tunneling equipment suggested for Tysons Corner — and build the Western Bypass underground, financed with a combination of bonds, tolls, private money and perhaps a targeted tax?
Such a tunnel has already been done elsewhere. Mercer Island’s Park on the Lid has softball fields, tennis and basketball courts, and a playground with a fantastic view of downtown Seattle — all atop busy Interstate 90. Four toll-financed highway tunnels run beneath highly urbanized, pedestrian-friendly parts of Sydney, Australia.
If they can do it, so can we.
