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1999 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 434
Requesting the Transportation Coordinating Council of Northern Virginia to identify certain transportation projects in Northern Virginia and recommend funding strategies therefor.

Agreed to by the Senate, February 25, 1999
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 23, 1999

WHEREAS, the Northern Virginia 2010 Regional Transportation Plan, developed in 1989, identified transportation corridors in the region needing improvement; and

WHEREAS, the Northern Virginia 2010 Regional Transportation Plan identified specific transportation projects that would need to be constructed by 2010 to facilitate the proper movement of goods and people in Northern Virginia, promote a prosperous regional and state economy, and prevent further degradation of the region’s transportation network; and

WHEREAS, although the Northern Virginia 2010 Regional Transportation Plan was never officially adopted by participating jurisdictions, it nevertheless has served for nearly a decade as the guiding plan for Northern Virginia’s transportation needs; and

WHEREAS, the estimated cost of constructing the transportation projects identified in the Northern Virginia 2010 Regional Transportation Plan totaled approximately $10 billion, with a funding shortfall of approximately $7 billion in available and projected funds by 2010, representing an annual shortfall of approximately $331 million for construction and operation of the identified projects; and

WHEREAS, in the 10 years following development in 1989 of the Northern Virginia 2010 Regional Transportation Plan, some projects identified in the Plan, costing approximately $1.5 billion of the $10 billion, have been completed, with some additional projects currently receiving funds in the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) six-year improvement program or under study; and

WHEREAS, the Transportation Coordinating Council of Northern Virginia (TCC) and VDOT currently are developing the Northern Virginia 2020 Regional Transportation Plan to reflect a projected 40 percent population increase in the region by 2020 and a corresponding 80 percent increase in traffic volume within Northern Virginia by 2020; and

WHEREAS, the goals for the Northern Virginia 2020 Regional Transportation Plan include lessening congestion in already severely congested corridors, increasing mobility among major regional activity centers, identifying short-term, medium-term, and long-term transportation improvements, identifying feasible funding sources for needed regional improvements, and ensuring that Northern Virginia’s economy remains strong; and

WHEREAS, as a part of the Northern Virginia 2020 Regional Transportation Plan, the TCC and VDOT will estimate the total cost of constructing the identified transportation projects by 2020 and required to meet the goals established by the plan, including any projected funding shortfalls that could prevent full implementation of the plan by 2020; and

WHEREAS, timely and full implementation of the revised Northern Virginia 2020 Regional Transportation Plan is critical to prevent further degradation of Northern Virginia’s transportation system; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Transportation Coordinating Council of Northern Virginia be requested to (i) identify the most immediate, highest priority, unfunded projects in the Northern Virginia 2020 Regional Transportation Plan, (ii) identify the costs for those projects and the process and time scale necessary to complete them, and (iii) recommend funding mechanisms and appropriate organizational structures to facilitate the timely construction of those projects; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the TCC shall complete its work in time to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2000 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.