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 fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To authorize alternatives analysis and preliminary engineer-
ing for new Metrorail capital projects in Northern Vir-
ginia and surrounding areas. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Virginia Met-
rorail Extension Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 
Authority (Metro) maintains the second largest rail 
network (Metrorail) in the Nation. 
(2) Local governments in Northern Virginia 
have led efforts to extend Metrorail service, and any 
future Metrorail extension will be provided only with 
their collaboration, consistent with local planning ob-
jectives. 
(3) More than 120,000 Federal employees ride 
Metro to work. 
(4) Metro takes 580,000 cars off the road each 
day, eliminating the need for 1,400 lane miles of 
highway and eliminating 1 million tons of green-
house gas emissions annually. 
(5) Metrorail stations enable transit-oriented 
development, which is critical to protecting open 
space regionally. 
(6) Metro stimulates economic growth. 
(7) Real estate near Metrorail stations is worth 
in excess of $25 billion. 
(8) The Virginia Department of Transportation 
and Department of Rail and Public Transit com-
pleted a Major Investment Study that concluded 
that a multimodal transportation strategy is re-
quired to accommodate projected travel demand in 
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Virginia along Interstate Route 66 from Interstate 
Route 495 to Haymarket, the area to be served by 
the proposed Orange Line Metrorail extension. 
(9) The population of the area to be served by 
the proposed Orange Line extension is expected to 
be 681,000 individuals by 2025, while employment 
in the area is projected to increase to 362,000 indi-
viduals by that date. 
(10) As a result of military base realignments 
and closures, thousands of jobs will shift from the 
area of Crystal City, Virginia, which is served by 
Metrorail, to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and its engi-
neering proving ground, which are not served by 
Metrorail. 
(11) Despite recent road improvements, includ-
ing the Springfield Mixing Bowl, Interstate Route 
495 continues to experience congestion at both Poto-
mac River crossings during normal rush hours. 
(12) It is critical that extensions of transit serv-
ice are coordinated with local land use planning, in-
cluding the use of smart growth principles and tran-
sit-oriented development. 
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SEC. 3. PROJECT AUTHORIZATIONS FOR NEW FIXED 
GUIDEWAY CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
(a) 
ALTERNATIVES
ANALYSIS.—The 
following 
project is authorized for alternatives analysis under sec-
tion 5339 of title 49, United States Code: Northern Vir-
ginia—Metrorail Purple Line extension. 
(b) PRELIMINARY
ENGINEERING.—The following 
projects are authorized for preliminary engineering under 
section 5309(m)(2)(A) of such title: 
(1) Northern Virginia—Extension of Metrorail 
Blue Line. 
(2) Northern Virginia—Extension of Metrorail 
Orange Line to Centreville. 
(3) Northern Virginia—Extension of Metrorail 
Yellow Line. 
(4) Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland— 
Metrorail capacity expansion. 
Æ 
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