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Articles
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| I-395/14th Street Bridge corridor to get makeover in 2009 |
VOICE writes, "I-395/14th Street Bridge corridor to get makeover in 2009
By Hannah Rexroth
The gateway connecting Northern Virginia and D.C. is being readied for a facelift set to begin in 2009.
The I-395/14th Street Bridge corridor, heavily congested by commuters, has safety issues as well: lane drops, insufficient parking for car poolers and bus transit entanglements.
The Federal Highway Administration is developing solutions to the current problems and drafting an environmental impact statement, “a comprehensive study of what kind of impact the corridor will have on the environment,” said highway administration spokesperson Ron Zeitz. "
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The study area extends more than four miles along I-395 and 14th Street. The options under consideration include bus-only lanes, additional access ramps to existing walkways and bike paths, an acceleration lane for the 7th Street on-ramp and eliminating the lane drops -- where the highway narrows from three to two lanes, or from two lanes to one -- on Maine Avenue and I-395.
Another option would expand highway lanes to become High Occupancy Toll lanes, giving buses and carpools with at least three people free access, but requiring other vehicles to pay a toll.
“Our purpose is to get commuters through that area, or off of that area, more efficiently,” said Lisa Landers, environmental protection specialist for the highway administration. “So far we’ve looked at existing areas, and we’ve developed ideas. Now, we’re narrowing them down.”
The highway administration is still in the development stage and will not make final decisions or begin construction until 2009.
“There’s not one solution to solve congestion or improve safety,” said Mark Cheskey, project manager with the consulting firm KCI Technologies Inc., at a community meeting last month at Amidon Elementary School. “We’re asking for your ideas, we need a lot of different options.”
The project managers are considering 43 options that have been offered at various community meetings. “Just because we’re proposing these things doesn’t mean that we’re going to do all of them,” Zeitz said.
The highway administration, which began the 14th Street Bridge corridor project in 2006, is overseeing the project in cooperation with the D.C. and Virginia transportation departments, Arlington County, the Department of Defense and the National Park Service.
The federal government is funding 80 percent of the project, with the D.C. and Virginia transportation departments paying for the remainder.
In addition to connecting Arlington County and the District, the I-395/14th Street Bridge corridor serves as an evacuation route for the city.
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Posted on Nov 15, 2007 19:30pm.
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