SD30 - Western Transportation Corridor


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was asked by the 1996 General Assembly through Senate Joint Resolution 35 to establish the Western Transportation Corridor Study Policy Advisory Committee to assist the Departments of Transportation and Rail and Public Transportation in completing a major investment study (MIS) for the Northern Virginia Western Transportation Corridor.

Through the MIS process, VDOT and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) have evaluated transportation improvements in a study area that encompasses over 800 square miles and includes large portions of four major jurisdictions: Loudoun, Fauquier, Prince William, and Stafford Counties. The study area, known as the Western Transportation Corridor, is shown in Figure 1. A small portion of Fairfax County also is included. In addition to these larger jurisdictions, there are five independent cities and towns: Leesburg in Loudoun County; Haymarket, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Occoquan in Prince William County.

The requirement for a MIS is the result of legislation as part of the lntermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, Therefore, the Study met the requirements of Federal mandates (23 CFR Part 450) of the Metropolitan Planning Process as it applies to major metropolitan transportation investments. The purpose of an MIS is to develop information about the likely impacts and consequences of significant alternative transportation investment strategies in a transportation corridor. As part of the MIS requirements, alternative transportation modes were considered and incorporated into the alternatives.

The WTCS, originally due to be completed at the end of 1996, was postponed a year to include study of the Quantico alternatives. The final report was presented to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in September 1997; the CTB selected an alternative to pursue through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The WTCS Major Investment Study Report was issued in December 1997.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the Western Transportation Corridor Study (WTCS) was to evaluate the need for and effects (benefits, impacts, and costs) of transportation improvement options in the western Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. More specifically, the purpose of this study was threefold:

(1) to identify the transportation needs within the study area in the 2020 timeframe;

(2) to compare planned capacity improvements, by mode, with the identified transportation needs in order to identify any modal deficiencies; and

(3) to provide a basis on which decision-makers at both the state and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) levels could decide whether to initiate more detailed studies.

Public participation was a key element of the WTCS and was encouraged throughout the process. A total of thirteen (13) public information meetings were held. Three series at four locations (Prince William, Stafford, Fauquier, and Loudoun Counties) were held in June and November 1995 and November 1996; one meeting was held in August 1997 on the Quantico alternatives in Stafford County. Over 2,300 individuals attended these meetings.