At the June board meeting, the TPB voted to adopt an amended Resolution R13-2024 pertaining to the inclusion of the I-95/I-495 Southside Express Lanes Project in the Air Quality Conformity Analysis of Visualize 2050 and the FY 2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The board also approved a regional Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan (TRIP) after a year-long, coordinated effort involving the active participation of TPB jurisdictions.

Meeting agenda, materials, and recording

Chair’s Remarks

TPB Chair Christina Henderson’s remarks focused on the upcoming discussion on the I-95/I-495 Southside Express Lanes project and its pending inclusion in the Visualize 2050 and TIP air quality conformity analysis. Henderson remarked that TPB members have been actively engaged in discussions and project review prior to the meeting and were prepared to take action.
 

ACTION ITEMS
 

Approval of the amended Visualize 2050 air quality conformity analysis and FY 2026-2029 TIP

In May, the TPB approved the scope of work and project inputs for the Visualize 2050 Air Quality Conformity Analysis. Before the vote, the board opted to remove one project, I-495 Southside Express Lanes, from the list of project inputs, agreeing to discuss its inclusion during the June TPB meeting. At the June meeting, TPB members held a substantive discussion of the Virginia project with several members emphasizing that the project is regional and not just isolated to Virginia and Prince George’s County, Maryland. 

With the final vote, the board approved Resolution R13-2024 with the following amendments:

• Amends the Air Quality Conformity Analysis Scope of Work that the TPB adopted as part of resolution R12-2024 on May 15, 2024, by directing staff to conduct two alternative sets of regional air quality conformity analysis—one without the I-495 Southside Express Lanes project; and one including the I-495 Southside Express Lanes project.
   
• Revises the Visualize 2050 plan schedule to provide additional time for the analysis of the two alternative scenarios with the TPB approving the air quality conformity analysis and adopting Visualize 2050 and FY 2026-2029 TIP at its December 17, 2025, meeting. This date is anticipated, and TPB staff will provide updates in 2025. 
   
• Resolves that the TPB intends to approve only one of the two alternative regional air quality conformity analyses—either with the I 495 Southside Express Lanes project OR without this project.

For audio of the Visualize 2050 and I-495 Southside Express Lanes project discussion, click on the June 20 livestream starting at the 27:42 mark. Visualize 2050 updates will be posted in the coming months at visualize2050.org.
 

TPB Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan (TRIP)

The TPB unanimously approved the new Transportation Resilience Improvement Plan or TRIP, one of the first MPO-adopted transportation resilience plans in the U.S. Katherine Rainone, TPB’s Resilience Planner, has been staff lead on this plan which has its origins in the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) program. PROTECT established formula and discretionary grant programs with the purpose to plan for and strengthen surface transportation to be more resilient to natural hazards. While development of a resilience plan is optional under PROTECT, having a formal plan has the benefit of reducing local match requirements for local agencies who want to apply for federal funding under the program.

The TRIP builds on the resilience work that COG and TPB have completed in previous years and contributes to member organizations’ understanding of and planning for climate change risk and resilience.

Development of the plan kicked off in April 2023, a risk-based assessment was conducted last summer, and in October 2023, the TPB held its first National Capital Region Transportation Resilience Forum. All of this resulted in local agencies prioritizing 34 resilience project submissions for grant funding consideration. Rainone said that she plans to conduct an annual request for projects to include in the TRIP and will likely schedule that solicitation for projects in early 2025. Read details about the TRIP in the June 20 news release.

Committee and Director’s Report Highlights

TPB Technical Committee, TPB Community Advisory Committee, Steering Committee, and Director’s reports are available on the June TPB meeting page.

Steering Committee and Director’s Report Highlights

Kanti Srikanth reported the following: 

On June 7, the TPB Steering Committee approved the following resolution and amendments to the FY 2023 – 2026 Transportation Improvement Program:

• TPB SR25-2024 – Inclusion of a list of Virginia projects not in the Visualize 2045 project list for the project to be eligible for Commonwealth of Virginia SMART SCALE funding. The TPB identified the projects and support their SMART SCALE applications.
   
• TPB SR26-2024 – A request by District DOT to amend the South Capitol Street Trail Project with an additional $13.4 million through Local, CMAQ, and RAISE Grant funding and a new District Department of Energy & Environment Fast Charger Upgrade Project at $689,877.
   
• TTPB SR27-2024 – A request by Maryland DOT to add approximately $35.2 million to the Maryland portion of the TIP by adding approximately $16.6 million to an existing program, operating funds, and a Low-No discretionary grant, nearly $9.2 million through the Maryland Equitable Charging Infrastructure Discretionary Grant, and $9.4 million to a shared-use path project.

• TPB SR28-2024 – A request by Virginia DOT to add a total of approximately $407 million to the Northern Virginia portion of the TIP by adding approximately $150 million to two existing roadway projects and Amtrak operations and a new Virginia Passenger Rail Authority project that separates the construction phase from an existing project record.

TPB letters of support were prepared for:

• Maryland DOT application for an Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Program grants to examine Transit Oriented Development (TOD) opportunities along the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) Penn Line and Baltimore’s MetroLink Subway system.
   
• Prince William County application for grant funding under the FY 2023 Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program to plan and design Phase 1 of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Manassas Line Trail.
   

Update on DMVMoves

Srikanth also provided a brief recap of DMVMoves. The regional initiative is working to define how to improve the current public transportation network in the region, which could include better coordinated planning, regional funding, and coordinated governance that would lead to a world class transit system. TPB members involved in the task force include TPB Chair Cristina Henderson, TPB Vice Chair James Walkinshaw, and Charles Allen.

The DMVMoves task force will be assisted by two advisory groups--the Government Partners Advisory Group and the Community Partners Advisory Group. The Government Partners Advisory Group includes representatives of all local bus systems, VRE, MARC, and other regional and subregional transit agencies. The Community Partners Advisory Group represents community partner organizations, chambers of commerce, trade unions, and the TPB's Community Advisory Committee. The CAC is represented in the group by CAC Chair Ra Amin.
 

NEXT MEETING

The next TPB meeting is scheduled for July 17 at 12:00 P.M. A YouTube livestream option is available for all TPB board meetings. To receive additional TPB updates in your inbox, subscribe to TPB News