Western Transportation Corridor

Background

The WTC is the latest incarnation of a proposed Western Bypass of Washington D.C. It would be a $1.5 billion new highway west of Washington's suburbs that would stretch more than 50 miles through the northern Virginia Piedmont. Since Maryland has opposed a new bridge crossing of the Potomac River, the proposed highway is no longer a bypass of Washington. Instead, it is proposed to run from I-95 north of Fredericksburg to Route 7 west of Leesburg. This project has been identified as one of the most wasteful and destructive projects in the entire country in a national report called "Road to Ruin," as well as in the recent Green Scissors report.

This "road to nowhere" has been touted as a solution to north-south commuter traffic. Yet VDOT's own studies show that the road would do little to relieve traffic congestion on the D.C. Beltway or I-95, and it would actually increase traffic on several congested roads, such as I-66, since it would open new areas to development.

VDOT should focus on solving the region's traffic problems where they exist, rather than generating additional traffic with a new highway that would open more areas to scattered development. Less expensive, less destructive, and more effective alternatives exist to address traffic congestion in the area, such as upgrading and linking existing and other planned roads, and a range of needed transit improvements in the region. Moreover, the many years and millions of dollars that already have been spent on flawed studies of the Washington Bypass and the WTC ignore the overriding need to better integrate transportation and land use policies in the region.

The WTC - and the inevitable sprawl development it would bring - pose tremendous threats to important environmental and cultural resources in the Piedmont. The project would:

Degrade or destroy up to 450 acres of wetlands;
Destroy open space and the rural character that many of the local communities are trying to preserve;
Compound pollution problems in the Chesapeake Bay;
Increase vehicle exhaust in an area that already violates federal health standards for air pollution;
Threaten the integrity of historic resources such as the Manassas National Battlefield Park and the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Parks.

Citizen opposition to the WTC project is widespread, and a majority of the localities through which it is likely to run oppose it as currently proposed. Moreover, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service have all questioned the need for the highway, given the tremendous environmental impacts and the fact that VDOT's own data do not justify building the road.

Due to the many shortcomings of the proposal for what was then called the Washington Bypass, the project was cancelled by the state in the 1980s. It was resurrected as the Western Transportation Corridor in the early 1990s, largely as a result of pressure from some northern Virginia developers and businesses.

VDOT launched a "Major Investment Study" of the project, which contained numerous flaws. In 1998, responding to criticisms of VDOT's studies from SELC, PEC and others, the Virginia General Assembly directed VDOT to complete the studies in cooperation with the federal agencies and concerned citizens. VDOT failed to follow this directive, and in 2001 it launched an $11.2 million environmental impact study of the proposal. SELC and our partners raised numerous concerns that need to be addressed to ensure a meaningful study that is not simply geared toward construction of a new highway and highlighted the tremendous costs and minimal benefits of this highway. The state terminated funding for continuing the WTC study in mid-2003.

The state has sought to gauge interest in building the highway under Virginia's Public-Private Transportation Act. Under the Act, private corporations can pay all or most of the cost of constructing a highway, build the project, and recoup their investment and make a handsome profit by placing a toll on the facility, thus sidestepping both the state's normal transportation planning processes. The deadline for expressions of interest in a PPTA project to build the WTC passed in January, 2005, and no submittals were received; a primary reason cited for the lack of response was the tremendous public opposition to the project and likelihood of litigation. Unfortunately, there is still pressure for the state to offer taxpayers' dollars for a large share of project funding to entice private companies to pursue the WTC project.

In addition, studies of two related roads are underway that could build a portion of the WTC - the Manassas National Battlefield Bypass and the Tri-County Parkway. In November 2005, the Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the Tri-County Parkway.