Eastern Bypass

Alliance Position:
Construct limited access parkway between I-95 and an upgraded Maryland Route 301 or alternative parallel corridor.

Background:
The Eastern Bypass is part of what regional planners in the 1960s proposed as a third or outer Beltway.

The Eastern Bypass' primary function is to divert north-south interstate traffic, heavy trucks in particular, moving up and down the East Coast off the Capital Beltway and WoodrowWilsonBridge and away from and around the metropolitan core.

Potential corridors, benefits and feasibility were last examined in the late 1980s in a joint Maryland-Virginia (Bellomo-McGee) Study. This Study examined six possible corridors ranging from 57 to 91 miles in length. It estimated travel demand of 60,000 vehicles per day by 2010 and costs between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion (in 1988 dollars) depending upon the corridor. In 1991, Maryland declared it was no longer committed to an Eastern Bypass and studied improvements of the Route 301 corridor ending at the Potomac River.

The Northern Virginia 2030 Transportation Plan includes the Eastern Bypass and estimates its cost at $1.215 billion.

Next Action Step:
The Governors of Maryland and Virginia need to direct their Departments of Transportation to conduct a joint study and recommend the best corridor for this facility.

The newly created Maryland-Virginia-District of Columbia Interstate Legislative Committee should place re-examination of this facility on its agenda.