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2019 SESSION

19107425D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 581
FLOOR AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by Senator Peake
on February 21, 2019)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Cole)
Requesting the Commonwealth Transportation Board to study the portion of the Interstate 95 corridor between Exit 118 and the Springfield Interchange, financing options for improvements to the corridor, and the feasibility of an eastern bypass for U.S. Route 29 around Charlottesville. Report.

WHEREAS, an adequate, efficient, and safe Interstate 95 corridor is important to the economic well-being of the communities located along the corridor; and

WHEREAS, a 2017 nationwide study conducted by INRIX Research ranked the nation's worst single traffic hotspot as Interstate 95 southbound at Exit 133A in Fredericksburg, with 1,394 traffic jams over the two-month study period, with an average duration of 33 minutes. This hotspot is projected to cost drivers $2.3 billion from 2017 through 2026 in time lost, fuel wasted, and carbon emitted; and

WHEREAS, the portion of Interstate 95 northbound between Massaponax and State Route 610 in North Stafford was ranked as the seventh worst traffic hotspot in the nation, with 936 traffic jams over the two-month study period, with an average duration of 33 minutes. This hotspot is projected to cost drivers $1.1 billion from 2017 through 2026 in time lost, fuel wasted, and carbon emitted; and

WHEREAS, the existing transportation infrastructure in this corridor is inadequate and must be updated to meet the needs of the growing population along this corridor; and

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments reported that the Interstate 95 corridor in Fairfax and Prince William Counties contained 566,000 residents and 187,000 jobs in 2010 and forecasts that 126,000 residents and 85,000 jobs will be added by 2030; and

WHEREAS, continued congestion in this corridor threatens the prosperity and economic development of the entire region and creates economic hardship for the residents; and

WHEREAS, a project aimed to move traffic around Albemarle County's rapidly growing Charlottesville corridor on U.S. Route 29 was originally conceived in the 1980s, with the Virginia Department of Transportation (the Department) beginning to purchase land for a proposed western bypass in the early 1990s; and

WHEREAS, the proposed western bypass faced strong opposition from the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors for over 20 years until June 8, 2011, when supervisors changed policy positions, at which point the Commonwealth Transportation Board started allocating funding for the construction; and

WHEREAS, the western bypass project was abandoned in 2014 after the Federal Highway Safety Administration wrote a letter to the Department calling into question the possible environmental impacts of such bypass; and

WHEREAS, over $200 million dollars in funding was reallocated to other congestion-mitigating projects affecting and surrounding U.S. Route 29 in and around Charlottesville through a project called Route 29 Solutions; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Route 29 corridor is still in need of an overarching congestion-mitigating transportation solution to allow commuters and travelers to bypass the inevitable traffic caused by the University of Virginia and the area's hospital facilities; and

WHEREAS, the rural areas east of U.S. Route 29 present a viable and appealing option for constructing a bypass that would allow travelers and commuters to more quickly traverse the corridor without adding to the congestion to the already overused U.S. Route 29 in Charlottesville; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Commonwealth Transportation Board be requested study the portion of the Interstate 95 corridor between Exit 118 and the Springfield Interchange, financing options for improvements to the corridor, and the feasibility of an eastern bypass for U.S. Route 29 around Charlottesville.

In conducting its study, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (the Board) shall develop and adopt an Interstate 95 Corridor Improvement Plan (Plan). The Plan shall include the examination of potential improvements to the portion of Interstate 95 between Exit 118 and the Springfield Interchange and the methods of financing such improvements.

At a minimum, in the development of the Plan, the Board shall:

1. Designate specific segments of the Interstate 95 corridor between Exit 118 and the Springfield Interchange for improvement;

2. Identify a targeted set of improvements for each segment that may be financed or funded in such segment and evaluated using the statewide prioritization process pursuant to § 33.2-214.1 of the Code of Virginia;

3. Ensure that, in the overall plan of expenditure and distribution of any toll revenues or other evaluated financing means, each segment's total long-term benefit shall be approximately equal to the proportion of the toll revenues attributable to and other funds allocated to such segment divided by the total toll revenues and other revenues allocated to the Plan;

4. Study truck travel patterns along the Interstate 95 corridor and analyze policies that minimize the impact of the Plan on local truck traffic;

5. Identify incident management strategies corridor-wide;

6. Ensure that any revenues collected on the Interstate 95 corridor be used only for the benefit of that corridor; and

7. Determine potential solutions to address region-specific needs along this Interstate 95 corridor.

The Board shall also review and catalogue the land east of U.S. Route 29, consider the current traffic conditions on U.S. Route 29 in Charlottesville, meet with local business owners and employees of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Health System, and research possible funding options for such development, including revenues from the potential sale of right of way properties acquired for the western bypass project that are not already designated for other purposes

Technical assistance shall be provided to the Board by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of State Police. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Board for this study, upon request.

The Board shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2019, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2020 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.