Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins cast the lone dissenting vote that blocked the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority from endorsing a proposed extension of express lanes along the southern stretch of I-495, she told the City Council on Tuesday night.
The NVTA considered approving a letter of support for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s I-495 Southside Express Lanes Project at its Sept. 11 meeting. Still, the measure failed due to the authority’s voting requirements.
“I think four members voted for it, I voted against it, and the other members abstained,” Gaskins said during the council’s Sept. 30 meeting. “Ultimately, it ended up failing because at the authority you have to have not only a majority vote, but you have to have a majority of localities and you have to have a majority of population.”
The NVTA is composed of elected officials from Northern Virginia’s local governments, including representatives from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, and the cities of Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. The authority serves as the region’s multimodal transportation planning and funding agency.
Without Alexandria’s support, the measure would not have met the population threshold required for approval.
Gaskins said her opposition stemmed from Alexandria’s concerns remaining unaddressed despite extensive engagement.
“I think what has been clear is that Alexandria has made a lot of effort to engage in this conversation,” she said. “We’ve attended every meeting they’ve had, we’ve submitted letters, we’ve engaged in a conversation, but ultimately none of our questions have been answered, and nothing has changed in the way that we have been advocating for.”
Alexandria has raised concerns about the project since the spring, with Gaskins writing to VDOT in April that the project would bring “substantial consequences” to local neighborhoods. The city has requested noise, traffic, and air quality analyses before a preferred alternative is selected, and has raised concerns about induced demand, safety impacts, and effects on local streets.
The proposed project would extend express lanes along an 11-mile section of the Capital Beltway from the Springfield Interchange to the MD 210 Interchange in Oxon Hill, Maryland. VDOT developed two build alternatives: Alternative A would add one express lane in each direction, while Alternative B would add two express lanes in each direction.
Alternative A includes preservation of space on the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge for future rail, according to the NVTA memorandum. Alternative B includes an additional commitment to convert space to rail transit in the future when the region is ready. Both alternatives include new bus service between Central-West Prince George’s County and Tysons and new bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
The draft letter would have urged the Transportation Planning Board to include the project in its Constrained Long Range Plan at its October meeting. The letter emphasized the project’s alignment with NVTA’s TransAction plan and the Bus Rapid Transit Action Plan.
VDOT has committed to transit-supportive elements, including a new transit service estimated at $9 million in 2022 dollars and allocation of toll revenues to support transit services.
VDOT initiated the environmental study in 2022 and is finalizing the Environmental Assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The agency held public hearings in June and received nearly 1,000 comments.
Gaskins said the conversation will likely continue at the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.
“That conversation, I think, will go to NVTC next,” she said.
The mayor thanked community members for their input throughout the process.
