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2001 SESSION

017940564
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 411
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Rules
on January 29, 2001)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Whipple)
Requesting the Virginia Department of Transportation to take certain actions for the initiation of a study on the proposed widening of Interstate Route 66 within Arlington and Fairfax Counties.

WHEREAS, the Virginia Department of Transportation's Transportation Development Plan for Fiscal Year 2000-2001 includes a study of the widening of Interstate Route 66 in Arlington County between the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and Interstate Route 495; and

WHEREAS, in so densely settled a place as Arlington County, costs of right-of-way for such a project are likely to be very high, and it is prudent thoroughly to review the need for such a project; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Virginia Department of Transportation be requested to take certain action for the initiation of a study on the proposed widening of Interstate Route 66. Specifically, the Department shall seek an amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program for the Washington Metropolitan Region to include funding provided in the Transportation Development Plan for the study of widening Interstate Route 66 and include the project into the Constrained Long Range Plan for the National Capital Region to allow, upon approval of the amendment, for the conduct of a study of the proposed widening of Interstate Route 66 within Arlington and Fairfax Counties between the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and Interstate Route 495. The study shall include the origins and destinations of people currently using Intestate Route 66, travel demand forecasts, and all options for meeting this demand. In conducting this study, the Department shall consider, but not necessarily confine its investigations to, (i) a no-build option, in which no changes are made to the current design of the highway; (ii) a Transportation Systems Management approach, in which minor changes are made to entrance and exit ramps to improve transit service or travel flow, rather than major expansion or reconfiguration of the roadway itself; (iii) the implementation of high-occupancy vehicle lanes in both directions on Interstate Route 66 within the Capital Beltway during peak travel hours; (iv) the imposition of variably priced tolls for the use of Interstate Route 66, so that the use of the facility at peak travel hours would be more costly than during off peak hours; and (v) the conduct of all analyzes required for the appropriate environmental documentation, including an analysis of the social and economic impacts of the proposed project on adjoining communities, an environmental analysis of air and noise impacts, and an analysis of fiscal impacts of the proposed project on local governments. The Department shall conduct its study in a manner ensuring that local governments and the general public are involved. This study shall take into consideration the independent and on-going studies conducted on the extension of Metrorail service and the establishment of a bus rapid transit alternative in the Dulles corridor.

The Department shall submit an interim status report by October 20, 2002, to the Governor and the 2003 Session of the General Assembly, complete its work in a timeframe as is needed for preparation of thorough documentation, and submit its final findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.