Richmond Highway widening project faces funding gap

The last part of Richmond Highway to get widened will be between Jeff Todd Way/Mount Vernon Memorial Highway and Napper Road in Hybla Valley. (Fairfax County picture)

The widening of Richmond Highway between Hybla Valley and Woodlawn faces a potential bump in the road thanks to a low score for the project by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA).

The low score could mean no funding for the project in fiscal year (FY) 2017, which some believe could jeopardize the already-lengthy timeline for the widening to be completed.

Fairfax’s $215 million project to widen Richmond Highway between Napper Road and Mount Vernon Memorial Highway is currently expected to be completed in 2025. It will expand the 2.9-mile stretch to three lanes on each side, erasing the last three-to-two lane bottleneck along Route 1 in southeast Fairfax and fulfilling part of the larger Embark Richmond Highway plan to improve transportation in the corridor.

Fairfax requested $5 million for the widening project for FY 2017, which would go toward engineering and right-of-way acquisition planning.

The NVTA, a regional long-range transportation planning organization, evaluated 24 projects for FY 2017 funding, including seven from Fairfax County. Using a scoring analysis that takes into account a factors such as traffic reduction, improvement of safety, connection between jurisdictions, the NVTA has ranked the Route 1 widening 20th in “Congestion Reduction Relative to Cost Ratio” and 14th in “NVTA Quantitative Score.”

NVTA’s scoring of the project was challenged by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development in the Richmond Highway corridor. SFDC president Edythe Kelleher testified before the NVTA at an open hearing earlier this month, noting the need to continue momentum on a project considered vital to the corridor’s future.

“[C]ontinuation of funding is necessary to meet critical milestones for other parts of project preparation, such as completion of the engineering phase, utility relocation, site plan, and right-of-way acquisition,” Kelleher said.

Kelleher also took issue with the NVTA’s scoring, particularly with the low numbers given for connecting jurisdictions and the potential to reduce vehicle mileage. Richmond Highway is a crucial link for commuters coming north from Prince William County and south from Alexandria, Kelleher said. And with bus rapid transit (BRT) planned for the corridor (and dependent on highway widening), she said the widening will have a major impact in reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

“Working along this corridor, I am puzzled by the low scores this project received in certain categories,” Kelleher said.

State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36), whose district covers a large portion of Route 1, also registered his disappointment in the rankings in a blog post earlier this week. Surovell blamed the low scoring for the project on the county’s construction timeline.

“The main reason U.S. 1 in Fairfax County scored low was because of the proposed construction timetable as compared with other projects Fairfax County (and other jurisdictions) submitted,” Surovell wrote. “The NVTA is required by law to give greatest priority to the projects that will give the greatest congestion relief the soonest.”

The NVTA has held multiple public hearings to get feedback on the FY 2017 project list, including one Tuesday night at the South County Governmental Center. Approximately 30-40 people attending that open meeting, the SFDC estimated.

NVTA’s public comment period ends today (June 17) at 5 p.m. To give feedback, you can email them at [email protected] or call 703-642-4652.

The NVTA will release its final FY 2017 budget in July.