WASHINGTON — The Governors of Maryland and Virginia are promising an end to crippling congestion over the American Legion Bridge, but opponents say the idea will make Beltway traffic even worse traffic for years to come.
"We are distressed," Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. He criticized Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s announcement that the traffic-choked Potomac River crossing would be rebuilt and widened.
“There’s a natural feeling that adding capacity to roads will make a difference and what we’re seeing is it doesn’t," Schwartz said.
Transportation officials said they want to replace lanes on the bridge while adding two new express lanes in both directions. In all, the eight-lane bridge will become 12 lanes. Transportation officials said by extending express lanes from George Washington Parkway in Virginia over the bridge to River Road in Maryland could cut some commute times in half.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan called it a “once in a generation achievement for the Capital region.”
But Schwartz said larger highways only generate more traffic in the short and long term. Transportation planners call the concept of induced demand. Simply put, it’s like saying you need a bigger garage and then filling it with too much stuff. Planners maintain more roads lead to more sprawl followed by more traffic.
"You’re fueling more spread out, sprawling development because you’re making it easier to commute from very far distances," Schwartz said.
Construction could begin as soon as 2021, Maryland transportation officials said. A news release called the plan is a "long-term, seamless solution for the Capital Beltway." But opponents say the legacy will only be more traffic.
"We have a widespread agreement that this is a very real problem," Schwartz said. "They have to look at alternatives."
The states have agreed to a bi-state funding plan to accelerate the delivery of these critical improvements, including all of the infrastructure needed for connections between George Washington Parkway and MD-190/River Road.
Maryland will cover 79 percent of the General Purpose Lanes on the new American Legion Bridge, 50 percent of the Express Lanes on the new American Legion Bridge, and 100 percent of the southbound Express Lanes and General Purpose Lanes from MD-190/River Road to the George Washington Parkway.
Virginia will cover 21 percent of the General Purpose Lanes on the new American Legion Bridge, 50 percent of the Express Lanes on the new American Legion Bridge, and 100 percent of the northbound Express Lanes and General Purpose Lanes from the George Washington Parkway to MD-190/River Road.