At its October meeting, members of the Transportation Planning Board voted to approve the 2014 Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan (CLRP), which includes all regionally significant transportation projects and programs that are planned in metropolitan Washington between 2015 and 2040.
Major changes and additions to the 2014 plan update include:
- In the District of Columbia, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is proposing three new transit projects—the Union Station to Georgetown Streetcar Line, the M Street SE/SW Streetcar Line, and the Benning Road Streetcar Spur. DDOT is proposing to remove the planned implementation of Peak Period Bus-Only Lanes on H Street NW and I Street NW from the CLRP, pending further study. DDOT is also proposing three studies to examine managed lanes on the 14th Street/ Rochambeau Bridge, I-395/I-695 (SE/SW Freeway), and I-295.
- In Maryland, the Maryland Transit Administration is updating the MARC Growth and Investment Plan. The Maryland State Highway Administration is resubmitting the construction of an interchange on I-95/I-495, the Capital Beltway at the Greenbelt Metro Station in Prince George’s County. This project had previously been included in the CLRP, but was removed in 2010 to meet financial constraint requirements.
- In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is proposing to widen a segment of US 1 in Prince William County and to widen a portion of VA 123, Chain Bridge Road in Fairfax County. Virginia Railway Express is updating its System Plan as a part of the CLRP.
The approved plan includes some $42 billion in capital improvements that add nearly 1,200 lane-miles of new or widened roadways and 44 miles of new Metrorail, light rail, streetcar, or commuter rail transit. This will amount to a 7 percent increase in the total number of lane-miles of roadway compared to today, and a 15 percent increase in the total miles of rail transit. The plan includes the following significant roadway and transit projects, such as the proposed widening of I-270 and US 15 in Frederick and Montgomery counties in Maryland, 95 Express Lanes in Virginia, major upgrades to South Capitol Street in the District and the replacement of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, the second phase of Metro's Silver Line in Virginia, and the proposed Purple Line in Maryland.
The TPB updates the CLRP to include new projects and programs as priorities change and funding for new initiatives is identified. Last month, the Board reviewed the contents of the plan, including analyses of its funding as well as its impact on future travel, the environment, and access to jobs.