The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) voted July 14 to adopt the FY2022-2027 Six Year Program that will help fund regional transportation projects throughout northern Virginia.
The program will fully or partially fund 20 projects including railway, bus rapid transit (BRT), roadway, pedestrian/bicycle pathways, transportation technologies and an electric bus fleet. While NVTA says more than $1.2 billion was requested, it approved funds of nearly $625 million.
“The NVTA takes a multimodal approach to providing transportation solutions and options that keep Northern Virginia and beyond moving, recognizing there is no one-size-fits-all solution to tackling traffic congestion in the Washington, D.C. region,” said NVTA and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall. “The 20 projects the NVTA has just adopted are no exception.”
Projects approved for funding that will primarily improve BRT or passenger rail include:
- $80 million for Arlington County’s Ballston-MU Metrorail Station West Entrance. This $150 million project will construct a second entrance to the Ballston-MU Metrorail Station at Fairfax Drive and North Vermont Street, nearly a quarter mile to the west of the existing entrance. The current entrance, at Fairfax Drive and North Stuart Street, is located at the far eastern edge of the train platform.
- $80 million for Fairfax County’s Richmond Highway (Route 1) BRT. The $730 million Richmond Highway BRT Project will run approximately 7.4 miles from Huntington Metrorail Station along North Kings Highway and within the median of Richmond Highway (US Route 1) to Fort Belvoir.
- $10 million for Fairfax County’s Fairfax Connector Buses for Tysons to Franconia Service. NVTA will fully fund the purchase of eight zero-emission vehicle battery electric transit buses to support limited stop peak hour bus service connecting Tysons, Dunn Loring and Franconia-Springfield.
- $5 million for the city of Alexandria’s West End Transitway Phase 1b: South Van Dorn Street and Bridge Design project. The nearly $41 million project will design South Van Dorn Street and the Van Dorn bridges between Metro Road and McConnell Avenue to accommodate dedicated transit lanes for the future West End Transitway, as well as improve non-motorized facilities along the bridges for better connections between new developments, transit stops/stations and the Van Dorn Metrorail station.
“It truly takes a region to look beyond jurisdictional lines and see a milestone like the FY2022-2027 Six Year Program adoption come to fruition,” said NVTA CEO Monica Backmon. “We are extremely thankful for our members of the NVTA and their staff, regional partners and stakeholders, and the public for their participation in the Six Year Program Update process.”
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
