Webb Secures $400 Million in Funding for Key Transportation & Military Construction Projects in Northern Virginia

Washington, DC— Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) today announced millions in funds for important projects for Northern Virginia.
Funding was secured in the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 3288), passed Sunday in the U.S. Senate. The legislation includes a $400 million investment in transportation infrastructure and mass transit to relieve traffic congestion through initiatives such as the Dulles Rail Corridor project. It also supports important military construction projects and law enforcement programs in the Northern Virginia area.  The spending package includes six FY 2010 appropriations bills:  (1) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development;  (2) Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; (3) Financial Services and General Government; (4) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; (5) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and (6) State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

The House of Representatives passed the package on Thursday, December 10.  It now goes to the President to be signed into law.

“The Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by the Senate this weekend makes critical investments in Northern Virginia’s transportation infrastructure and expanding public transportation options,” said Senator Webb. “The $400 million investment for the WMATA system brings Northern Virginia one step closer to a crucial Metrorail extension that will relieve congestion, improve quality of life and foster sustained economic growth in the region.”

To promote greater transparency in government, funding levels and descriptions of all projects in the legislation are available online at: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=3df78a79-5bf6-4fdd-86d1-c5534d5b541c

Key programs and projects impacting Northern Virginia include:

CRITICAL INVESTMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The bill provides a $85,000,000 full funding grant agreement (FFGA) for Dulles Corridor Rail Project from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the project sponsor. The FFGA commits federal funding for this project, which first received federal appropriations in Fiscal Year 1999.  This request reflects the amount designated in the FFGA funding schedule for FY 2010.  The project sponsors are working with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Department of Transportation to bring the project closer to a reality.  The Washington Dulles International Airport, which will be served by the project when fully built-out, and the surrounding high tech community are a driving force in the region’s economy.  Northern Virginia continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in the country and this project is essential to meeting the growing need for alternative modes of transportation.

The legislation provides $1,000,000 to construct a new entrance and three elevators at the Rosslyn Metro Station. The Rosslyn Metro station currently serves more than 34,000 people every day, making it one of the busiest stations in the Metrorail System, and the busiest station located outside the District of Columbia.

The funds will be used to construct a new entrance at the station and three high-speed elevators to improve the capacity and ease of access to the station.  The project also involves a new mezzanine with underground connecting passageway, station manager kiosk, fare collection equipment and all related infrastructure to support the new entrance.  Finally, it includes street improvements to ensure a good level of service for bus and pedestrian traffic, an emergency stairway, and a new elevator for redundancy, which will reduce the need for shuttles from nearby stations if one elevator is out of service.  The redundant elevator system will improve access and levels of service for people with disabilities, families with young children and seniors.

The City of Alexandria and Arlington County received $1,000,000 to plan Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for Route 1 through the Potomac Yard-Crystal City corridor.  This project will increase the ability of workers in this corridor to use transit for commuting, thus reducing traffic congestion and air pollution.   SAFETEA-LU has authorized $1 million to assist with this project, but additional funds are needed.   Funds will be used to design and construct a dedicated transit way along Route 1 for its portion of the new BRT.  This project is listed within the regional and State Transportation Improvement Plans.

Prince William County received $584,400 for Route 1 / Route 123 Interchange Improvements. This project involves replacement of an at-grade intersection at US Route 1 & State Route 123 with interchange including construction of a bridge over the CSX railroad (which is parallel to US Route 1), improved access to Virginia Railway Express station, widening of US Route 1 to 6 lanes from Occoquan Road to Annapolis Way, and widening of State Route123 to 6 lanes from Horner Road to US Route 1.  Funds will be used for construction of the US Route1/ State Route 123 Interchange project.  This is a project that was implemented by both Prince William County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).  The County completed the design and most of the right of way acquisition and VDOT will do the remaining right of way, the utility relocation, and construction of the project.

The bill provides $3,000,000 for the Virginia Railway Express to purchase new locomotives to replace locomotives that are more than ten years beyond their life expectancy.  The new locomotives will improve on time performance for the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and help VRE meet its double digit ridership growth since 2001.  Funding for these new locomotives will not only benefit the immediate need for stronger and more reliable locomotives to service current ridership levels, but also allow for the expansion of service by permitting the Virginia Railway Express to lengthen existing trains. Also, VRE would be able to program critical service improvements, such as express trains, expansion to Gainesville-Haymarket, service to Fauquier and Spotsylvania Counties only if new, stronger locomotives are brought into the operation. The locomotive acquisition is listed within the regional and State Transportation Improvement Programs.

The bill provides $500,000 for needed updates to the intersection of Main Street and Maple Avenue in Purcellville, Virginia.  Funds will expand capacity for motorists and school buses by adding turn lanes to each leg of the intersection, reduce conflict points by closing driveway, upgrade crosswalks, add pedestrian countdown signals, and provide ADA compliant sidewalks.  Located in Loudoun County, Purcellville has experienced an 88 percent rate of growth from 2000 to 2007.  Increased population and traffic volume has rendered this intersection undersized for its current and projected use.  This project is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Six-Year Improvement Program and meets the criteria needed to qualify for funds from the Transportation & Community & System Preservation account, which supports projects that will improve the efficiency of the transportation system of the U.S., reduce the impacts of transportation on the environment, and provide efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade.

The legislation commits $1,000,000 for upgrades to the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission Western Bus Facility in Prince William County. The funding will address inadequate storage capacity for the PRTC’s current fleet of 122 buses.  Even with modest expansions to PRTC Transit Center in Woodbridge, this facility will be fully deployed by the end of 2011 due to continuing service and fleet expansion.  This project would address this problem with a second permanent bus yard ideally situated on the western side of PRTC’s service area.  Such a facility would address the problem of “deadheading,” which currently occurs because the buses servicing the western areas are based at the Woodbridge facility and are therefore carrying no passengers while traveling between their storage yard and their routes on the west side of the service area.  This new site will allow PRTC to maximize bus operations and make the best use of their transit resources.

IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY, GANG PREVENTION

The bill provides $550,000 the George Mason University Center for Infrastructure Protection’s Cybersecurity & Cyber Conflict Analysis project. The purpose of this project is to provide new advice and policy guidelines for government and industry actions regarding cyber incidents that do not comfortably fit within the existing legal and operational structures originally established to counteract physical-world problems of crime and warfare. The goal of this project is to encourage the growth of collaborative relationships necessary to deal with the full spectrum of cyber conflict problems, including intra-governmental cooperation within a nation-state, cooperative relationships among nations and within existing international organizations and alliances, and mutual cooperation among private sector companies and governmental entities.

To combat gang violence, the bill allocates $3,000,000 to the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force in Leesburg, Virginia. The Northern Virginia Gang Task Force has had a measurable effect on gang activity in the region, and we are seeking additional federal assistance to help continue the Task Force’s efforts in Northern Virginia.

The legislation commits $300,000 to assist Stafford County in completing the upgrade of their public safety communication technology. Stafford County’s analog radio system is more than twenty years old and the system is inadequate in facilitating two-way communications during law enforcement and first responder field operations.  This greatly affects the ability of emergency responders to properly communicate in public safety emergencies.  Stafford County seeks to upgrade to a digital system that will help with interoperability and has already committed $27 million to radio upgrades.

The City of Alexandria received $200,000 for Youth Building Green, a program targeted to at-risk students in Alexandria, Virginia. The City of Alexandria Court Service Unit, the Alexandria City Public Schools and the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, a private non-profit organization, have formed a partnership to serve 5th through 12th graders at risk for gang activity.  Funds will be used to administer the in-school and after-school programs, the summer camps and the after-school jobs program and will be matched with non-profit funding.  This project has potential to serve as a national model to address this critical drop-out problem.  Other programs of both the City of Alexandria’s Court Service Unit and the Alexandria Seaport Foundation already serve as national models.

INVESTING IN EDUCATION

The legislation commits $200,000 for Northern Virginia Community College to develop online workforce training courses for displaced workers across the Commonwealth. Funds will be used to develop a program that trains displaced workers in the latest skills related to Geographical Information Systems (GIS).  GIS has recently been recognized by the federal government as a field in which significant growth is expected in the next few years. This project will provide the capacity for the Northern Virginia Community College to create on-line GIS courses to be used at other campuses in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).  With these funds, VCCS campuses across Virginia would be able to offer a GIS Studies Certificate or an Associate Degrees with a GIS specialization.  This project involves funding for workforce training services.  Specifically, the funds would be used for instructional design services; web design services; content creation services; and program review and evaluation.

INVESTING IN VIRGINIA’S MILITARY FACILITIES

The legislation appropriates $476.1 million for Virginia military construction projects, including the following Northern Virginia military construction funding in line with the administration’s budget request:

• Fort Belvoir Flight Control Tower:  $8.4 Million
• Fort Belvoir Road and Access Control Point:  $9.5 Million
• Langley Air Force Base West & LaSalle Gates Force Protection/Access:  $10 Million
• Quantico Student Quarters – The Basic School (Phase IV):  $32.06 Million
• Quantico Marine Security Guard Battalion Training Facility:  $10.34 Million
• Quantico Marine Corps Information Operations Center:  $29.62 Million
• Quantico Aircraft Trainer:  $3.17 Million
• Quantico Dining Facility – The Basic School:  $14.78 Million
• Quantico South Mainside Electrical Substation:  $15.27 Million
• Pentagon Electrical Upgrade:  $19.272 Million
• Pentagon Secondary Uninterruptible Power Raven Rock:  $8.4 Million

ADDRESSING BRAC GROWTH, TRAFFIC CONGESTION

The bill includes a $450,000 measure of Senators Webb and Warner to conduct a transportation study to address BRAC growth and relieve traffic congestion. The measure makes funding available to the Secretary of Defense to arrange a Transportation Research Board study of improvements needed to accommodate growth and traffic associated with the 2005 BRAC. The provision aims to address the lack of adequate funding and time for BRAC-affected communities to undergo needed transportation projects.  The study could identify new criteria for determining funding eligibility and lead to a more appropriate sharing of costs by the Department of Defense. BRAC-related consolidations have generated several requirements for major road-improvement projects to address increased congestion at Fort Belvoir, Quantico Marine Corps Base, and Fort Lee, among others.

The County of Fairfax received $974,000 to reconstruct the grade-separated interchange of I-95 and the Fairfax County Parkway at Newington Road. The funding request for this interchange is due to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommendations for Fort Belvoir.  The reconstruction will address traffic congestion due to increased personnel and contractors for Army operations.  This Interchange would provide better access to the Army base and the Engineer Proving Grounds (EPG) site.

SUPPORTING OUR VETERANS

The legislation includes key funding to improve veterans’ access to healthcare in rural areas, address critical maintenance to VA medical facilities, and increase human resources to deal with an unacceptable backlog in claims processing.

• Appropriately Funding the Post 9/11 GI Bill:  The bill adds $4.8 billion in veterans’ readjustment benefits for the implementation of the post-9/11 educational assistance program.
• Expanding Veterans Access to Rural Health Care:  The bill includes $250 million to build on the 2009 Rural Health Initiative, providing a total of $440 million in 2010 for medical care for veterans in rural and highly rural areas. The bill also provides an additional $50 million in medical services to establish Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in rural areas that are currently underserved by VA health care facilities.
• Properly Maintaining VA Medical Facilities:  A funding measure of $1.3 billion ($300 million above the President’s request) is included for the VA to address critical non-recurring maintenance and the backlog of code violations at existing VA hospitals and clinics. Additionally, $1.9 billion is provided for the construction of VA hospitals and clinics. The bill includes $685 million for minor construction projects ($85 million above the President’s budget request) for construction at existing VA medical facilities.
• Addressing the Backlog in Claims Processing:  The bill provides the Veterans Benefit Administration with the resources to hire 1,200 new claims processors in fiscal year 2010. This will bring the Compensation and Pensions workforce level to 14,549 in 2010 as compared to 7,550 in 2005.

The legislation also includes an “Advanced Appropriations” measure, sponsored by Senator Webb, to secure timely, reliable funding for veterans’ health care delivered through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).  The bill authorizes an “advance appropriation,” providing the Department of Veterans Affairs funding on a two-year basis to prevent lapses in services. In 19 of the past 22 fiscal years, final VA appropriations have been enacted several months late and have frequently required supplemental appropriations to sustain veterans’ health care.