Time for a new bridge to connect Fairfax County and Montgomery Counties (Arlington: 2015, construction)

[slaminjamin87]

Given the strong economies in both Montgomery County MD and Fairfax County VA, I think it is very vital to build another bridge to connect these counties. Even express lanes on a legion bridge or a new toll bridge connecting from the ICC to 267 will be a great alternative to look into.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...ac2_story.html

[dkf747]

Long overdue, but little chance it will ever happen. Comments on the article are trying to say such a bridge wil have no effect.

[snowdenscold]

If only this had been brought up before here...

[NOVA_guy]

I see jobs all the time in Montgomery County but no amount of money would be worth that commute. Hopefully they can do something, even something minor for the time being because from what I've seen, it's pretty awful.

[tysonsengineer]

I wrote a posting about this a long time ago. I think the best means to do this is to instead split off what is local traffic from what is through traffic and at the same time create a new transit connection to share costs. If you connect the CIA into this federal funds could become available and it could serve as a logical extension of either the purple line or silver line spur helping to reduce dependence on the SV/OR/BL tunnel.

Concepts For a Shared Rail/Road Bridge | The Tysons Corner

[Hudlander]

Good idea. In my view an outer crossing was needed 30 years ago. We didn't build it but growth and sprawl still came and traffic was worse.
It's not so much needed for commuters....it's needed so the people in centreville like me aren't forced onto the AL Bridge or Point of Rocks when going to I-95 North.
Now, IF NoVA/MD capped construction at 1980 levels, then we would be fine with ONE crossing west of I-495....but we didn't so any induced argument is utter garbage.

[slowlane3]

This subject has been raised and analyzed many times. No new crossings (except for Rail) have been added over the Potomac River since the opening of the Roosevelt Bridge in 1965, and in the meantime traffic volume has probably quadrupled or more.

Loudoun County a few years ago was THE #1 fastest-growing county in the entire U.S. The need for a new bridge between Leesburg, VA and Poolesville, MD would seem obvious. But it will never happen because upper Montg. County is mostly a big protected area with rural low-density zoning -- and any river crossing in the Poolesville area would attract large traffic volumes, which would necessitate building a multi-lane highway of many miles to access this new bridge --since at present, there are only narrow, winding rural roads around Poolesville. If such a major new highway were to be built in the Poolesville area, and connected with a new bridge, it would only encourage higher-density zoning and many miles of sprawl development, which MD's government doesn't want.

Further, the state of MD doesn't want to encourage its residents to use Dulles Airport by making it easier to access -- it wants to keep them using and supporting B.W.I. Airport.

[Carlingtonian]

I'm glad this isn't going to happen. We need to keep some rural areas rural. Guess what: Not everyone gets to live here.

[Hudlander]

This is a perfect example of why the DC sucks, why it always will suck and be one of the most dysfunctionally planned communities in the country.
Ignorant, petty politics and ivory tower idealists.

If you don't build it, they still will come/they still have come.
This is not Danville this is DC, to have just ONE interstate crossing west of DC is utter absurdity.
Not ONE other major metro area is this short sighted and thick headed.
This is why DC traffic is WORSE than NY traffic...because I can cross the Hudson via the GWB or the Tappan Zee....here I have NO such option.

Since when did the Potomac River become the Potomac Ocean? I mean seriously, outside of the capital beltway you have Point of Rocks to the NW and the Nice Bridge way way SE....for a top 10 metro area? And people still think NOT building roads will keep the region at it's 1970 population?

[Fredesch]

DC is not a planned community. The region spans two states and the district. While they plan mass transit as a group, bridges bring out local interests. Montgomery County is not going to sacrifice it's green zone for Virginia exburbs. Within Virginia, Arlington rejects expanse of 66, which only helps the farther out suburbs. If you don't like the traffic, live close to your work.