Outer Beltway -- Community Presentation 031813

PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL
The Outer Beltway
What’s Being Proposed,
What’s the Impact?
Chris Miller, President of
The Piedmont Environmental Council
Ashburn, 3-18-13

PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCILPIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL
• Where exactly are we talking about?
• What kind of road would it be?
• Would it make my commute easier?
• Has Rt. 50 traffic impact been modeled?
• Would it encourage 4-laning further west, replace
roundabouts, revive calls for Middleburg bypass?
• How will it impact preservation plans to protect drinking
water supplies?
• Will it encourage more sprawl?
• How much would it cost? How would it impact other
projects?
What, if anything, can I do about it?
Brings up a lot of questions:

The road has been repeatedly proposed and then
rejected, because of cost and ineffectiveness in
addressing real transportation needs:
• 234 Bypass Extended-- 1988
• Washington Bypass-- 1989 (a full outer beltway study)
• Western Transportation Corridor-- 1997
• Tri-County Parkway-- 2005
• Bi-County Parkway-- 2011
• North-South Corridor of Statewide Significance-- 2011
• Northstar Blvd and Belmont Ridge Rd– 2012
• 234 Bypass—2013 (name has returned)
All compose elements of an ‘Outer Beltway’
A little background on the ‘Outer Beltway’

Over time, there
have been many
potential routes…

A VDOT Plan
from 1990

A VDOT Plan
from 1997

In 2011, the State
designated a:
‘Corridor of
Statewide
Significance’

“Statewide Significance” has been translated to….

December, 2012

• Expand VA 234 to 6-lanes
from I-95 to I-66
• Construct Tri-County
Parkway (TCP), connecting
I-66 and Route 50, through
Manassas Battlefield
• Expand Northstar Blvd to 6-
lane facility
• Spur road to Dulles Airport
What does it mean?
Different name—same game

• Cost of about $1 billion
for the entire length
from I-95 to Route 7
• Reference to HOT
lanes implies tolls
through public-private
partnership
• Spur to Dulles
– Up to $813 million

Proposed Access Corridor Alternatives to Dulles
3 miles-$153 million

Proposed Access Corridor Alternatives to Dulles
4 miles
$813 million

– Next meeting
expected in early April
– Decision by June
regarding location
Dulles Access Road – Still in the public process

Zooming back out:

Experience tells us…
New highways lead to:
• Speculative development (land is often rezoned
to accommodate such development)

Land Speculation Along the
Outer Beltway Route
• During the real estate boom of the mid-
2000s, Loudoun had over 35,000 houses
approved but not yet built; and builders
were seeking approval for over 45,000
more with nearly half of those along the
Route 50 corridor. The Loudoun Board
voted against adding those additional
units.
• Loudoun’s Transition Area limits
development to no more than 1 house
per acre, but landowners may feel that
the new highway will justify rezoning to
higher density.
• It may trigger a new round of rezoning
requests

In Prince
William, the road
would put
intense
development
pressure on the
Rural Crescent,
opening up
80,000 acres.

In Loudoun, the 22,813
acre Transition Area,
already under assault in
the past, would feel the
pressure to develop at
suburban densities once
again.

 Missing links and
Bottlenecks add up to $1.46
Billion *
 New unplanned
development would add
traffic on those congested
roads needing fixes
* Source: Loudoun County-- Eastern
Loudoun Transportation Study
Eastern Loudoun has many unfunded transportation needs

The road would cut through a National Park

Environmental Impact
An Environmental Protection Agency analysis estimates that a
new highway, when compared to alternatives, will cause:
– 2.5x the impacts to threatened and
endangered plants
– 10x the impact on
wetlands
– 10x the impact on the
floodplain area
– And potentially threaten the
Lake Manassas public water
supply

Threat to public
drinking water

Counter to
regional
plans for
conservation

Community Impacts
Credit Carey Pohanka
Disconnected schools
Increased air
pollution
Safety of young drivers

So why is this road being proposed?

VDOT’s Public Rationale (from Dec 2012 presentation)

VDOT points to freight demands

But the airport benefit may be overstated
Only 0.1% of the Northern Virginia freight weight;
0.2% by value comes through Dulles now.

Based on passenger trends
Source:http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/653.htm

And freight (000 lbs) trends
Source:www.metwashairports.com/dulles/653.htm

What about traffic congestion?
Virginia ranks among the nation’s most congested regions

Our biggest traffic problems are east-west

Population centers are largely east of the route

Where NOVA Commuters Go Daily
Fairfax
211,739
Washington, D.C.
156,598
Arlington
72,333
Alexandria
55,010
Loudoun
52,886
PW
Fairfax City Manassas City
Falls Church
Compiled from VA Employment Commission- Community Profiles Jan ‘13 data

Where People Work (Va Employment Commission 2013)

Where NOVA Commuters Go Daily
All trips between
Loudoun & Prince
William = 12,595 or 2%
Trips to other
locations in NOVA and
DC =
607,306 or 98%
Compiled from VA Employment Commission- Community Profile data for Jan 2013

In the future, VDOT
points out:
“Almost 57% of all new jobs
and 32 % of new households
will be located in activity
clusters throughout the
Washington region.”
But note that most
of the ‘activity
clusters’ are east of
corridor route.

There are alternatives--

Address East-West commutes
• Silver Line, VRE to Gainesville, Metro to Centreville
• Complete Rt. 7, Waxpool, Dulles Toll Rd,
Rt. 50 and I-66 improvements
• Interchanges on Route 50 and Route 7
• Dedicated commuter bus/HOV lane during peak hour
commutes
• Key interchange upgrade at I-66 to Route 28 North

Provide local traffic solutions
--Interconnected streets in new development
--Roundabouts at key intersections like
• Rt. 50 & Lenah Rd.
• Rt. 50 & Willowsford intersections
• Belmont Ridge Rd and Evergreen Mills
• Rt. 659 and Sudley
• Sudley and Pageland
• Pageland and Rt. 29

Localized Congestion Solutions: Gilberts Corner
Roundabouts still
needed to the east

VDOT has a 6 Year Plan
It includes statewide projects such as:
• Additional lanes on I-66
• Additional lanes on the Rt. 7 bypass in Leesburg
• Additional lanes on Rt. 28
• Intersection improvements at Rt. 215 and Rt. 29
• Many badly needed bridge rehabilitations
• Route 606 expansion to four lanes
Fund Original Plans

Loudoun has a Plan
Fund it and eliminate the
1.46 billion in missing links
and bottlenecks
Fund Original Plans continued…

Prince William has a Plan
• Improvements to I-66
• Improvements to Rt. 28
• New Rt 1 & 123
Interchange
• Transit Improvements
– Expanded PRTC Routes
– New Park and Ride Lots
– Extending VRE to
Gainesville

Fairfax has a Plan
• Tysons Corner transportation
needs
• Silver Line Phase II
• Reston/Herndon transit station
access
• Route 50 and I-66 improvements
• Metrorail to Centerville
• Fairfax County Parkway
improvements
• Countywide Transit Study with
new high capacity transit service

Overall – we need a comprehensive strategy to address traffic:

• Transit-oriented development
• Provide more homes close to jobs
• Design new neighborhoods with more
connected streets, and local connections to
schools and stores
• Protect rural areas, the Loudoun Transition Zone
and Prince William Rural Crescent
That incorporates smarter land use

Because what’s the best use of funds?
Completion of a
new North-
South Corridor
$1-2 Billion for--
Improvements
to heavily used
routes
OR

• Tri-County/Bi-County Parkway Study
– Draft Environmental Impact Statement – Spring 2013
– Final Environmental Impact Statement – Dec 2013
• N-S Corridor
– Public meetings in April 2013
– State decision in May 2013
• Dulles Connector
– April Public Meetings
– May/June CTB Decision
• Virginia 6-Year Plan
– Public Meetings in April (?) 2013
– Final state decision in June 2013
Decision Points Coming Up…

Who are the Decision-makers?
1) Virginia Governor & Sec. of Transportation
Can VDOT take land from
Manassas National
Battlefield?
(DOI and DOJ must agree)
2) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Is the project approved for
federal funding?
3) Virginia General Assembly

Contact:
– Your state and federal elected officials
– Governor McDonnell
Other Actions:
– Speak out at public input opportunities as they arise
– Talk to your neighbors and spread the word
– Continue to participate in local planning
– Sign up for ‘Land Use & Transportation’ alerts so we can
keep you informed as new information becomes available:
www.pecva.org/outerbeltway
What Can You Do?

Outer Beltway -- Community Presentation 031813

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Outer Beltway -- Community Presentation 031813