I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 55 

To authorize alternatives analysis and preliminary engineering for new 

Metrorail capital projects in Northern Virginia and surrounding areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2011 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To authorize alternatives analysis and preliminary engineering for new Metrorail capital projects in Northern Virginia and surrounding areas. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Virginia Met5 rorail Extension Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

2 Authority (Metro) maintains the second largest rail 

3 network (Metrorail) in the Nation. 

4 (2) Local governments in Northern Virginia 

5 have led efforts to extend Metrorail service, and any 

6 future Metrorail extension will be provided only with 

7 their collaboration, consistent with local planning ob8 jectives. 

9 (3) More than 120,000 Federal employees ride 

10 Metro to work. 

11 (4) Metro takes 580,000 cars off the road each 

12 day, eliminating the need for 1,400 lane miles of 

13 highway and eliminating 1 million tons of green14 house gas emissions annually. 

15 (5) Metrorail stations enable transit-oriented 

16 development, which is critical to protecting open 

17 space regionally. 

18 (6) Metro stimulates economic growth. 

19 (7) Real estate near Metrorail stations is worth 

20 in excess of $25 billion. 

21 (8) The Virginia Department of Transportation 

22 and Department of Rail and Public Transit com23 pleted a Major Investment Study that concluded 

24 that a multimodal transportation strategy is re25 quired to accommodate projected travel demand in 


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1 Virginia along Interstate Route 66 from Interstate 

2 Route 495 to Haymarket, the area to be served by 

3 the proposed Orange Line Metrorail extension. 

4 (9) The population of the area to be served by 

5 the proposed Orange Line extension is expected to 

6 be 681,000 individuals by 2025, while employment 

7 in the area is projected to increase to 362,000 indi8 viduals by that date. 

9 (10) As a result of military base realignments 

10 and closures, thousands of jobs will shift from the 

11 area of Crystal City, Virginia, which is served by 

12 Metrorail, to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and its engi13 neering proving ground, which are not served by 

14 Metrorail. 

15 (11) Despite recent road improvements, includ16 ing the Springfield Mixing Bowl, Interstate Route 

17 495 continues to experience congestion at both Poto18 mac River crossings during normal rush hours. 

19 (12) It is critical that extensions of transit serv20 ice are coordinated with local land use planning, in21 cluding the use of smart growth principles and tran22 sit-oriented development. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROJECT AUTHORIZATIONS FOR NEW FIXED 

2 GUIDEWAY CAPITAL PROJECTS. 

3 (a) ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.—The following 

4 project is authorized for alternatives analysis under sec5 tion 5339 of title 49, United States Code: Northern Vir6 ginia—Metrorail Purple Line extension. 

7 (b) PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING.—The following 

8 projects are authorized for preliminary engineering under 

9 section 5309(m)(2)(A) of such title: 

10 (1) Northern Virginia—Extension of Metrorail 

11 Blue Line. 

12 (2) Northern Virginia—Extension of Metrorail 

13 Orange Line to Centreville. 

14 (3) Northern Virginia—Extension of Metrorail 

15 Yellow Line. 

16 (4) Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland— 

17 Metrorail capacity expansion. 

Æ 


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