Northern Virginia Private Sector Calls Upon Arlington County Board
To Drop I-95/I-395 HOT Lanes Lawsuit

A coalition of twenty major organizations representing businesses employing the majority of Northern Virginia’s private sector work force is urging the Arlington County Board of Supervisors to drop its lawsuit that is delaying the I-95/I-395 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes multimodal project from moving forward, and work with the Virginia Department of Transportation to resolve access, design and other issues.

In a letter to Arlington Board members, the Coalition stated that the Virginia Department of Transportation is on record as being willing to re-examine design and access issues but the Commonwealth cannot re-engage in these discussions as long as the County’s legal action remains in effect.

The letter emphasizes that I-95/I-395 is a major regional and east coast transportation corridor that will become even more congested next year with the arrival of 20,000 new jobs relocated by the Base Realignment and Closure recommendations. The private sector’s proposal to invest $1 billion in private equity represents the only opportunity to improve transit, auto and truck movement in this corridor. No federal or state dollars are available for the foreseeable future to upgrade this corridor.

The letter describes the County Board’s lawsuit “as the primary obstacle to advancing this (HOT Lanes) multi-modal improvement.” It also states the Coalition’s belief that environmental and civil rights issues on which the County bases its legal action are without merit.

“Common sense dictates that a project constructed within the median of a 10-lane interstate highway would not require a full Environmental Impact Statement. Charges that the Obama administration and Governor Tim Kaine’s Secretary of Transportation acted with the ‘implicit intent’ to harm minority and vulnerable populations and benefit predominantly Caucasian Virginians are not credible and frankly an embarrassment to the region.”

For a copy of the Coalition’s letter, click here.