More NIMBY Madness:
Arlington’s HOT Lanes Lawsuit
Arlington County’s lawsuit to stop the I-95/I-395 HOT Lanes project is the latest in a long list of Northern Virginia locality actions that have delayed, downsized or defeated and run-up the cost of badly needed transportation improvements. It’s not by accident area residents lose more time and money stuck in congestion that just about anyone in the nation.
Consider:
1960s
- Virtually all Northern Virginia localities oppose Virginia Department of Highways comprehensive Northern Virginia Major Thoroughfare Plan “to meet traffic needs to the year 1985.”
1970’s
- Arlington County opposes I-66 inside the Beltway and succeeds in reducing design from four lanes to two in each direction, thus creating a major regional bottleneck that will require additional hundreds of millions of dollars to open.
- Fairfax County removes Monticello Freeway connector to Prince William County from its plan thus eliminating an I-95 and I-66 traffic relief valve, the Northern Virginia Expressway and portions of the Second Beltway from its comprehensive plan.
1980s
- Fairfax County opposes new Potomac River bridge outside the Beltway, thus overloading the American Legion Bridge and restricting Tysons Corner accessibility.
- Fairfax County kills Ridgefield Road connector between Fairfax and Prince William counties and another opportunity to provide I-95 relief.
1990s
- City of Alexandria opposes, delays and increases the cost of efforts to replace Woodrow Wilson Bridge that federal government had deemed structurally deficient in 1985.
2000s
- Loudoun County removes Western Transportation Corridor from its transportation plan despite federal, state and regional studies demonstrating major demand and benefits.
- Loudoun County rejects Route 9 and US 15 alternatives despite county-commissioned study documenting major safety and congestion-relief benefits.
Transportation has been a primary state responsibility since 1932.
Frequent Commonwealth deferral to NIMBY interests has enacted a higher toll on Northern Virginia residents than any road project.
Arlington County’s latest mischief, not only delays construction of a major public transit corridor and congestion relief, but makes it far less likely that private investors will view Virginia transportation projects as prudent investments.
As Long as the Agendas of the Few Are Allowed
to Trump the Needs of the Many,
Northern Virginians Will Waste
More of Their Lives in Congestion.