MD, VA agree on Capital Beltway Accord, American Legion Bridge widening

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced a historic Capital Beltway Accord at a joint appearance at the Capital Region Transportation Forum in Washington, D.C. yesterday. The bi-state agreement, which does not yet specify a timetable for completion, would widen the failing American Legion Bridge between the two states by adding tolled Express Lanes on and near the bridge. The states would split the cost, with the heaviest burden being picked up by Maryland, and both states expecting tolls will cover the entire $1 billion projected expense.

The accord also puts the backburnered Hogan plan for Express Lanes on the Beltway between the Legion Bridge and I-95 back on the table. No details on the staging of the that project in relation to the bridge widening were put forward Tuesday. The bridge changes would almost certainly fail to solve congestion if the new Express Lanes end at River Road instead of I-95, as they would only create another choke point there.

Adding Express Lanes to the Beltway and I-270 won't take the place of a new Potomac River crossing, which would take about 25% of rush hour traffic off of the Legion Bridge, according to a Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments study earlier this decade. They won't provide the direct access to Dulles International Airport from Montgomery County that international businesspeople have made clear they require to consider locating their headquarters here.

In fact, without a new Potomac River bridge north of the Legion Bridge - and major changes to County and Maryland tax and regulation schemes, Tuesday's accord would simply be another victory for Virginia and the crafty Northam from an economic development standpoint. Improved travel times for non-Dulles-related traffic on the Beltway would certainly help all of us, and are absolutely worthy of public support. But without direct Dulles access and a competitive business climate, the Beltway accord will simply reinforce our position as the bedroom community for the booming job centers in Northern Virginia.

The accord is a win for Hogan, however, as he considers a surprisingly-strong bid for the U.S. Senate. If he stands his ground on the Potomac-to-I-95 Beltway Express Lanes this time, Hogan will have delivered a start on major traffic relief on both failing interstates in Montgomery County in time for the 2022 election. Hogan was also the governor to finally get the new Nice Bridge project moving after decades of delay; that structure is scheduled to be well under-construction by the time he would take on Van Hollen.

Hogan hasn't even been grandstanding to the extent he could on transportation. He has quietly delivered new improvements on I-270 - such as new feeder lanes that allow entering vehicles from some ramps to proceed on the freeway without having to merge - over the last year. Surprisingly, he hasn't called a press conference to crow about these small but significant traffic flow upgrades.

Considering Van Hollen's weak legislative record, scandalous history of conspiring to reduce African-American turnout in his 2016 primary run against Congresswoman Donna Edwards (earning a rebuke from Hillary Clinton herself in the process), and Hogan's bipartisan support, this could be a top-tier contest. Neither man excites the core base of his party. But if these transportation projects move forward, Hogan will have done something Van Hollen hasn't in over a decade - deliver actual change for his constituents.

VDOT out of step with MD, VA leaders on new Potomac River crossing

The Virginia Department of Transportation has lost a few steps since Gov. Bob McDonnell left office. While some overt - and in more cases subtle - steps toward building a second Potomac River bridge were taken during the McDonnell years, the latest talking points from VDOT are decidedly less favorable toward such a venture.

VDOT recently released a study of traffic on existing Potomac River crossings that did briefly mention a new bridge remaining a long-term option. But the study "results" strongly favored another option, the extension of HOT lanes along I-495 over the American Legion Bridge onto Maryland's stretch of the Capital Beltway. That's certainly a positive and common sense option that should indeed go forward, particularly to give Beltway drivers willing to pay the toll a faster route.

But HOT lanes on the existing bridge won't give Montgomery County the economic benefit of a more direct route to Dulles Airport, the preferred flight option of firms who do business internationally. Conversely, they won't help boost economic development in the Dulles area, either. And they won't solve the reality that about 25% of Legion bridge traffic is traveling to, or from, the Dulles area.

That latter figure, from a Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments study, mysteriously appears nowhere in the report. Other figures that are in the report are questionable, such as the maximum speed claims for rush hour traffic in the area of the bridge on the Beltway. As bad as they sound, they're too fast for Legion bridge commuters to believe.

22.5 MPH speed crossing
from Tysons to Bethesda
during evening rush?
Traffic isn't moving
that fast in real life

There's one other engineering issue: the current Legion bridge isn't wide enough to hold an extension of the Virginia HOT lanes. Widening a bridge is not easy. The report makes no mention of the costs and challenges in doing so.

Moreover, VDOT's downplaying of a new crossing is out of step with their own elected leaders, and the change in leadership on our side of the river. Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently endorsed a new Potomac River bridge at a conference called Dulles Matters. U.S. Senator Mark Warner favors a new bridge, as well.

Maryland has a new governor, too. But Virginia's transportation secretary apparently hasn't heard yet. In his usual dismissal of a new Potomac River crossing, the Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock quotes him as follows: 

“Maryland has publicly stated they’re not interested in any additional river crossings,” Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne told members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board. “Okay, what’s the practical solution we can work on?”

That's complete baloney. Gov. Larry Hogan has never publicly stated he's not interested in any additional river crossings. That was the previous, Martin O'Malley administration that stonewalled any attempt to discuss the matter by Virginia officials.

By all means, go ahead and extend the HOT lanes. But this is also the time to finally begin a legitimate dialogue on a new bridge between the two states, while common-sense governors who understand highways are the major transportation method of the majority of commuters, and will remain so in the future.

Images: VDOT

WHAT THE ELECTION RESULTS MEAN FOR TRANSPORTATION IN BETHESDA

The upset victory by (unofficial) Governor-elect Larry Hogan (R) last night, and voters' approval of a lesser-known Statewide Ballot Question, could mean a long-overdue focus on Montgomery County's unfinished highway system. Hogan's defeat of Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown means the challenger's promise to focus scarce transportation funds on road construction and improvements can now be realized in actual policy terms.

Should Hogan deliver on his promise, Bethesda could be a major beneficiary of state funding and support. Assuming Hogan would support the long-delayed new Potomac River crossing to the Dulles area, there would actually be someone on our side of the river to pick up the phone that's been ringing from Virginia's Department of Transportation for years. A seeming victory by incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) leaves another high-profile bridge supporter in place, as well.

Given that 25% of traffic on the American Legion Bridge is traveling to, or from, the Dulles area, and the albatross that lack of direct access to Dulles Airport has been for economic development here, the compelling case for a new bridge could finally have a high-profile advocate in Hogan (should he choose to act on it).

The other big winner locally last night? The Town of Chevy Chase. Just 24 hours ago, the planned Purple Line light rail was considered by most as a done deal. State and county leaders vowed in recent weeks to hold a groundbreaking on the project next year. Yet, when the sun rose this morning, the Purple Line's future is in doubt. Hogan does not support it, and it's hard to imagine his administration getting on board. Chevy Chase residents and Capital Crescent Trail supporters who have been fighting the transit project have to feel a transfusion of confidence. This thing really might not happen at this point, an unimaginable outcome until now. At a minimum, it's going to be a much heavier lift for the County Council and General Assembly, both of which overwhelmingly support the Purple Line.

Money intended for light rail, and the severely-watered-down Corridor Cities Transitway bus project upcounty, could now be available for the Montrose Parkway extension, grade-separation of failing intersections, and other road projects, widening, and improvements. Greater capacity on roads would also translate into faster Metrobus and Ride On service.

Hopefully 8-car trains for the Metro Red Line will still be a priority, as that is essential to handle existing and planned development in downtown Bethesda and beyond. It would also help if Hogan would take a tougher approach than the previous administration to forcing leadership and operational changes at Metro. How Richard Sarles lasted so long - and got a raise, to boot - presiding over a system that (in practical terms) shuts down every weekend remains one of the great puzzles of humankind.

Speaking of money, Maryland voters delivered a clear message to politicians in Annapolis last night - hands-off our transportation tax dollars. Abuse of Maryland's Transportation Trust Fund is a lot harder this morning, as (at current count) 81.6% of statewide voters said elected officials should not be able to divert those funds to non-transportation uses, or budget-"balancing" chicanery.

A governor supporting projects that move the vast majority of commuters - and a new legal restraint on misuse of the dollars needed for those projects - mean Bethesda residents could be mildly optimistic about finally getting something done about our failing transportation system.

VA BI-COUNTY PARKWAY SQUABBLE THREATENS MONTGOMERY COUNTY'S ECONOMIC FUTURE

A highway battle currently raging in Virginia could have severe impacts on traffic here in Bethesda, and a large portion of Montgomery County. If it results in a capitulation by elected officials in Virginia, the loss of a potential new Potomac River crossing would prolong an existing failure to attract large employers to our side of the river.

Many years, and Virginia taxpayer dollars, were put into preparing VA Route 28 as a potential link in a future Outer Beltway. Also known as Sully Road, VA 28 passes along the eastern side of Dulles Airport. If you look on a map, you'll notice many of its intersections have been transformed into cloverleaf interchanges, such as you find on the Beltway and other interstates.

While discussion of a future Potomac River crossing connecting VA 28 to I-370 in MD has rarely been open, it was often assumed to be the most cost-effective solution to several congestion and access issues on both sides.

But over the last 2 years, Virginia transportation officials have begun to emphasize a highway corridor west of Dulles Airport. Anchored around a north-south Bi-County Parkway, it is now thought by many to be the new route of the Outer Beltway.

I personally would not strongly object to that happening. But I'm concerned that the new plan is stirring up more unnecessary fights with residents near the western Dulles route. Should the proposal fail as a result, it could also delay construction of the new river crossing.

A VA 28 Outer Beltway route (see map below) would be less expensive to build for Virginia taxpayers. And if the Bi-County Parkway is canceled, I would hope Virginia officials would immediately turn their attention back to Route 28, and a Potomac River crossing.

Why is a new crossing so important to Montgomery County?

First, our lack of access to Dulles Airport is a major reason large companies choose Virginia over Montgomery County. A short route across the Potomac would not only provide that access, but also allow hotels in our I-270 corridor to enter the airport hotel market for Dulles.

Second, the numbers clearly prove that a new Potomac River crossing would reduce up to a fourth of the traffic on Bethesda's congested American Legion bridge during rush hour, in both directions.

A 2012 study, presented by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, showed that 23% of Maryland drivers on the bridge are headed to the Dulles area.

And that 27% of Virginia drivers crossing the Legion bridge are heading to I-270.

A new bridge would provide easy access for both sets of drivers, as well as high-paying jobs for Montgomery County residents.

So this is a story worth paying attention to on our side of the river, as our county's economy has been stagnant for many years.

If Virginia officials succeed with the Bi-County Parkway project, that's fine. But if it fails, they should return to the VA 28 concept. As the map below shows, it can achieve the airport access and same Outer Beltway route through the Dumfries area, back to I-95, as the Bi-County Parkway alternative.

At the same time, elected officials on our side of the river need to start working with their Virginia counterparts - like Outer Beltway proponent Sen. Mark Warner - to build this essential crossing.

Every day we do nothing, we lose more jobs to Fairfax and Loudoun counties, and we spend another day in gridlock on the Beltway and I-270.

ANOTHER DC OUTER BELTWAY STUDY

The Virginia Department of Transportation made a quiet announcement right before Thanksgiving last week.  It plans to begin a new study of traffic utilizing existing Potomac River bridges, between Point of Rocks and the Harry Nice Bridge (Morgantown).

The study will get underway in the coming weeks, and is expected to conclude in Spring 2013.

When completed, VDOT expects to have a new data set from which to extrapolate future demand for new crossings.

They are asking Maryland and DC to cooperate in the study.

Of course, this is a complete waste of money. We know the demand for additional Potomac River crossings exists.  It was amply demonstrated in the American Legion Bridge study I presented to you here in exhaustive detail months ago.

VDOT boss Sean Connaughton and Governor Bob McDonnell support a new crossing, and have taken substantive steps toward that goal. Maryland is in the grip of an anti-highway legislative majority in Annapolis and Rockville.  But economic and congestion reality make their begrudging cooperation inevitable.  Lack of direct access to Dulles Airport, and timewasting commutes, cost Montgomery County jobs every day the status quo persists.

Foolish decisions in the past canceled many bridges, including the Rockville Freeway-Fairfax County Parkway bridge at Riverbend Park, the I-266 bridge into Georgetown, the Arizona Avenue bridge, and two Outer Beltway bridges.

Have an arterial blockage like that in a human, and you would require immediate surgery. But in this case, politicians are willing to let you and Montgomery County's economy suffer.

Stop the studies. That money could be better spent on the hungry and homeless.

Start building the highways! We know they're needed. Instead of having a theatrical BRT/gas tax summit in Annapolis, we should have a real crossjurisdictional summit on solutions that actually work: highways and bridges.

Gov. McDonnell is a key player in forcing that, but Sen. Mark Warner is the real heavy-hitter needed to get fellow Democrats on board.

Warner should extend a high-profile invitation to Gov. Martin O'Malley, and transportation officials, to join Virginia in such a series of meetings.  The senator has already announced his support for a new crossing.  Warner is not one who can be ignored, as he is highly respected nationally, and just happens to have deep pockets and 2016 aspirations.  Getting the Outer Beltway done would improve Warner's and O'Malley's presidential resumés.  It's hard to argue against jobs and the tax revenue they generate.

The sun rises every day. 2+2=4. And yes, Virginia, we need an Outer Beltway.

No study necessary.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL HOV LANE PLAN DEFIES BELIEF

COUNCIL INVITES

495, 270, LEGION BRIDGE

COMMUTERS TO JOIN

EMPEROR'S NEW CARPOOL

The Montgomery County Council and staff have surveyed two of the nation's most notorious traffic snarls - the American Legion Bridge/I-495, and I-270.  They have examined these 7th and 8th Circles of Hell.  They've brought their infinite wisdom to bear on one of the biggest obstacles to attracting new employers to Montgomery County (traffic gridlock).

And they've concluded the answer is... carpools.

Apparently, on whatever planet, and in whichever dimension, these folks reside in, this makes perfectly plausible sense to them.

Reality can be harsh.

They've studied a problem that has two definitive causes:  the failure to build at least three additional Potomac River bridges, and the failure to build our master plan highway system.

And what they've proposed specifically, is this:  turn the shoulders of 495 between Tysons Corner and the 270 spur into HOV/bus lanes.  And take an existing lane of I-270, and designate it an HOV lane.

In the first case, they have not increased capacity for the majority of drivers, and they have proposed a solution that could actually create worse traffic jams, and reduce safety.

Very few people carpool or take the bus on the Beltway.  So moving those vehicles onto the shoulder would have virtually no impact on travel lanes.  What would happen, however, is that the frequent broken-down or fender-bendered cars would now have no refuge at the side of the road.  There's no shoulder to pull off to, under the council's scenario.

I happen to recall driving from Virginia into Maryland one afternoon rush hour, and seeing a broken-down school bus on the shoulder.  Had the council's plan been in effect, those children would have been out in the middle of interstate highway traffic.  Is that a situation the parents of Montgomery County can buy into?

In addition, if someone breaks down in that shoulder "lane," you would have a jam worse than ever, as all of the buses and carpoolers would have to change lanes to get around that disabled car.

At least they're not proposing to "steal" a lane there.  But further north on 270, that's exactly what their plan calls for.  They want to turn an existing lane into an HOV lane.  In other words, congestion will get worse, not better.  Have you ever been at a dead stop at the 270 spur, and noticed the HOV lane is essentially empty?   So we're all sitting here, just so some politician can say he's "green?"

Surprisingly, or not, local media had no critical questions to ask the council, despite the plan's patent absurdity.  Instead, we are treated to more Orwellian statements about 21st century solutions, and "getting people out of their cars," something no one besides Communist China has been able to do so far.

Traffic congestion will not improve whatsoever should the council implement both their HOV plan, and the equally laughable Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) proposal.  In fact, in both cases, traffic would be worse.

But gridlock could be all but eliminated, if we made a belated commitment to building our master plan highways:  The Outer Beltway, Rockville Freeway, M-83 Mid-county Highway Extended, Northwest Freeway, and the Northern Parkway.  And at least one new Potomac River crossing.

There is simply no way the council can add 85,000 new cars to our existing highway system, as they plan to do, when it can't even handle today's traffic.

It's fine if the council wants to delude themselves that we can bus and carpool ourselves out of this mess.  But citizens and the media should cease to indulge decisions that place ideology over reality and decades of traffic engineering research.

We have "leaders" telling us they're adding 100,000 new residents to the county, which means 85,000 new cars driven by people who will not ride transit under any circumstances.

How many master plan highways is that same council proposing to build in the next 10-20 years?

Zero.  None.

We can't go on like this.

AMERICAN LEGION BRIDGE STUDIES PROVE ROCKVILLE FREEWAY, OUTER BELTWAY WOULD EASE BETHESDA BELTWAY CONGESTION

LEGION BRIDGE

ISN'T THE PROBLEM,

THE MISSING

HIGHWAYS AND

BRIDGES ARE

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

"Hooray!  Finally, someone is doing nothing about something!"

I don't know if that was an exact quote, but the above sentence sums up the decidedly-awestruck tone of media coverage of a recent "high tea" party, held by the Montgomery and Fairfax County Councils.  The meeting was presided over by Ronald Kirby, Transportation Planning Director for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Which is an Orwellian title indeed, as the sum of Kirby's public statements suggests he shares the Montgomery County Council's anti-highway, anti-car fervor - and promotion of transit-only policies that benefit development interests.

No surprise, then, that all parties involved conveniently reached a consensus that the solution to Beltway gridlock is... buses.  Never mind that there used to be a Bethesda-Tysons Corner bus that was terminated for lack of ridership.  "Rapid" bus?  Uh, what are you going to do, put bus stops on the shoulder?

Also predictably, we're told that widening the bridge would cost $800 million, and Beltway HOT lanes on the Maryland side would be even more cost prohibitive.

The good news I have for those doomsayers, is that we actually don't need to do either of those things.

What we need to do, is finish our 50-year-old master plan highway system. The twist is that the very numbers anti-highway Kirby touted, actually prove that he and the County Council are wrong, and I - and the planners of five decades ago - are right.

These studies clarify the missing highway capacity of the unbuilt Rockville Freeway and Outer Beltway.

Virginia drivers, the studies say, are headed to Interstate 270 27% of the time when they cross the Legion Bridge.  And a whopping 63% want to go east on the Beltway.

The 270 folks would use Potomac River bridges planned for the Outer Beltway and the Rockville Freeway to reach western Montgomery County and 270.  If one or both bridges were built, you'd have 27% of American Legion Bridge cars off the Beltway right there.

That 63% heading east?  It's likely some portion of that group could use the Rockville Freeway and ICC to reach their eastern destinations.  A Beltway-ICC link via the unbuilt Northern Parkway would further decrease that 63% group of cars headed east from Virginia.

How about Maryland drivers?

We've been told for years that nobody crossing the Legion Bridge in the morning from Maryland is going to Dulles.  Common sense told us that was bunk.  And now, the studies confirm it was complete and utter bunk.

23% of Maryland bridge-crossers are headed for the Dulles area.  Just consider that for a moment:  a Potomac crossing to Dulles via the unbuilt Outer Beltway and/or unbuilt Rockville Freeway, would take a full fourth of Virginia-bound cars off the Legion Bridge like a magic wand.

Another 24% of Maryland crossers were headed to areas of Northern Virginia that would be accessible to drivers on proposed bridges via the Rockville Freeway (Fairfax County Parkway) or Outer Beltway (Sully Road/Rt. 28, or the now-talked-about alternative west of Dulles).

In total, one or two additional bridges would reduce Virginia-bound traffic by nearly 50%.  And reduce Maryland-bound traffic by at least 50%.

And there are actually people opposed to new highways and bridges?!

Yes!  The scary thing is, among those opponents, are the very people discussing the future of the American Legion Bridge at this comedic farce of a meeting.

Best of all?  The $800 million cost of the unnecessary American Legion Bridge widening would could pay for the construction of most of the Rockville Freeway within Montgomery County, between 270 and the ICC.

Federal funds, as well as private/toll-funded options, could very realistically be secured to build at least one new Potomac River bridge.  Even if the Rockville Freeway only ran between 270 and the ICC (at Indian Spring Country Club), drivers crossing an I-370/ICC bridge could easily access it via 270.  The Rockville Freeway's 270 interchange already exists; most today know it as Montrose Road.

The good news is that one of Bethesda's biggest traffic nightmares, the American Legion Bridge, can be fixed without widening the bridge or the Beltway.  And if your home is one that would be demolished to make way for that widening, I suspect you'd have a strong self-interest in supporting the Rockville Freeway and Outer Beltway (both can be built without destroying homes within Montgomery County, as can the Northern Parkway).

The bad news, is that your county council and the wise people at COG have studied the same data I've presented to you here, and concluded that the answer is to do something short of nothing.

"Hooray!" for "leadership."