OUTER BELTWAY BILL

FAILS IN VA HOUSE COMMITTEE

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Virginia House Bill HJ-131, which would have required the Virginia Department of Transportation to study a new Potomac River crossing, has failed in the House Rules Committee.

The bill was tabled on a voice vote.

While the bill, sponsored by Del. J. Randall Minchew was the most overt step towards a DC Outer Beltway in the current session, its failure so early is particularly surprising. Supposedly pro-highway Republicans currently control the House, and by extension, its committees.

Why, then, would they not have the votes to move the bill forward? A voice vote also means that the committee members did not have to go "on the record" individually, regarding their position on the issue.

An embarrassing failure to rise to the occasion on a highway critical to the economic future of the DC region, and an outcome one would expect from Annapolis, not Richmond. After all, it was just a study. What were they afraid of?

This means more time crawling across the American Legion and Woodrow Wilson bridges.

HJ-134, which would have studied the Bi-County and Tri-County Parkways (another Outer Beltway-related bill) was recommended to be tabled by a voice vote in a different subcommittee.

If this is the result in a "pro-highway," "pro-transportation" Virginia House, it's time to replace politicians to both sides of the Potomac River.

VIRGINIA HOUSE

RULES COMMITTEE

TO RECEIVE

NEW POTOMAC RIVER

CROSSING STUDY BILL

TODAY

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Del. J. Randall Minchew's bill requiring a Virginia Department of Transportation study of extending Route 28 into Montgomery County, MD, advances in Richmond today.

House Bill HJR-131 was approved by a House subcommittee last Thursday, and arrives at the full House Rules Committee this afternoon at 4:00 PM.

A defacto step towards completion of a DC Outer Beltway, the bill also mandates that the state request Interstate status for Route 28. Although the logical connection today would be Sam Eig Highway (I-370) on the Maryland side, it is interesting to note that Route 28 was originally destined to connect with the never-built Rockville Freeway near Riverbend Park, via a six-lane Outer Beltway atop a dam.

Minchew's bill passed the House Rules Studies Subcommittee by a 4-1 vote last Thursday. Del. Kenneth Alexander (D - District 89) cast the lone dissenting vote. Opposition is strong among environmentalists and a faction of developers who profit from traffic gridlock via "smart" growth policies.

But the growing support for new Potomac River crossings reflects the acceptance of reality: cars aren't going away, and will only get cleaner. And while developers and the politicians they get elected claim they're building to serve the young, the elderly, and young families "seeking vibrant urban lifestyles and walkable communities," data shows the opposite. With the exception of the District itself, those demographics are fleeing the inner suburbs for Loudoun, Stafford, Frederick, Carroll and Washington counties.

In addition to the Rockville Freeway, M-83 Midcounty Highway Extended, and the completion of I-70 to I-170 and I-95 in Baltimore, new Potomac River crossings remain essential missing pieces in our region's transportation system.

For the sake of jobs, and quality of life, let's hope the committee approves this bill and advances it to the next step in the process today.

OUTER BELTWAY

STUDY ADVANCES

IN

VIRGINIA HOUSE

Virginia House Bill HJR-131 has been approved by the House Rules Studies Subcommittee. The bill, sponsored by Del. J. Randall Minchew (R-District 10), mandates a Virginia Department of Transportation study of a new Potomac River crossing into Montgomery County. It would also explore a request for inclusion of Route 28 as part of the federal interstate system.

The bill now goes to the full House Rules Committee.

One small step for man; one giant leap for DC area drivers.