Colman Engineering, PLC | Civil, Environmental, and Water Resources Engineering Services

  • Home
  • Services
    • Land Development
    • Water Resources
    • Environmental
  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Jobs
  • Home
  • Services
    • Land Development
    • Water Resources
    • Environmental
  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Jobs

Blog

Discussing current issues in engineering

Next Milestone Complete for a Major Addition to the Only Railway Bridge Connecting Virginia to Washington D.C.

9/28/2020

 
Picture
Virginia and DC transportation officials recently announced that environmental impact assessments have been completed for a proposed railway crossing over the Potomac River. The new metro bridge would ease current traffic congestion and ultimately provide hourly passenger rail service between Richmond and Washington DC.

The bridge plan includes two passenger railroad tracks and a pedestrian bridge built alongside the current 116-year-old Long Bridge Potomac crossing, which has been operating at 98% capacity for decades and is currently the only railroad bridge connecting Virginia to DC.

​The new bridge construction would allow for passenger rail service to operate on its own tracks rather than sharing the existing track with freight trains. This means passenger trains could leave and arrive hourly throughout the day between Richmond and DC in addition to easing the current traffic bottleneck for commuter rail operations in Northern Virginia.

Amtrak has pledged $944 million to the project and the VRE Commuter Rail Operating and Capital Fund is allowing the use of tolls from Interstate 66 to help fund the project. Virginia’s contribution is relying on an amendment to the two-year budget that would allow the transportation trust fund to keep road and transit construction projects moving forward.

Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine highlighted the fact that this new bridge construction would be opening up rail capacity for the entire Mid-Atlantic by connecting the Northeast and Southeast rail corridors of the U.S. which would allow for exponential growth in freight and commuter rail service throughout Virginia. Valentine further explained that this would expand capacity for the Port of Virginia and connect workers to important employment centers, which would contribute to the economic recovery of COVID-19 and overall growth of the Commonwealth.

With the completion of the environmental impact study, Virginia can begin preliminary engineering for the project with the possibility of Virginia Railway Express trains starting service to and from Baltimore beginning as soon as 2025. You can learn more at the official Long Bridge project website.

Comments are closed.

    Colman Engineering, PLC

    A professional engineering firm located in Harrisonburg, VA

    Archives

    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015

    RSS Feed

Picture
Colman Engineering, PLC
1123 S. High Street
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
contact@colmanengineering.com
(540) 246-3712
Colman Engineering, PLC

© Colman Engineering, PLC  |  All Rights Reserved