LONG BRIDGE CAPACITY NEEDS Oscar J. Gonzalez Virginia Railway Express Project Manager Alexandria, VA 1
TODAY S PRESENTATION VRE Overview Project Location and Partners Challenges and Opportunities Funding Strategies Lessons Learned 2
WHO WE ARE Commuter rail system 9 member jurisdictions Two lines, 87 route-miles 4.5 million annual riders between Virginia and DC (18,500 daily trips) 3
WHAT WE ARE KNOWN FOR Safe Operations High Customer Satisfaction Reliability Strong Partnerships with Our Host Railroads 4
WHAT WE DO We add peak capacity Currently 5,400 peak seats/hour to corridors of statewide significance I-66, I-95 & I-395 for longer-distance commuters Travelers that would otherwise drive on highways* using non-highway rights-of-way CSXT, NS & Amtrak * Source: Texas A&M Transportation Institute Congestion Relief Provided by Virginia Railway Express 5
Peak Hour Trips Virginia to DC across the 14 th Street Bridges (6:30 to 7:30 AM) OTHER 11% 1% 13% 17% BUS VRE METRORAIL AUTOMOBILE 58% 21,934 TOTAL TRIPS Source: Transportation Planning Board 2013 Central Employment Core Cordon Count 6
VRE SYSTEM PLAN 2040 Add service as we add capacity PHASE 1: Run Longer Trains Longer & second platforms More station parking More railcars More train storage tracks PHASE 2 & 3: Run More Trains Earn additional train slots through capacity improvements Additional tracks Parking, railcars, yards Long Bridge expansion 7
LONG BRIDGE LOCATION L Enfant L Enfant Virginia RO CSX Transportation Amtrak Passenger Station Interlockings Long Bridge Other U/G Bridges 8
LONG BRIDGE Two track, 2,529 foot crossing of the Potomac 11-span steel truss bridge with one moveable span Has not moved since 1967 Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1904 Extensively rebuilt in 1942 Owned by CSX Transportation Shared with VRE and Amtrak 9
LONG BRIDGE Strategic transportation asset for the Eastern Seaboard Links the North and the South Eastern most crossing of the Potomac Next crossing 75 miles away in WV No practical detour Freight and passenger traffic growing Typical Weekday Traffic 21 CSXT Freight Trains 34 VRE Commuter Trains 20 Amtrak Trains 10
LONG BRIDGE KEY DESIGN CHALLENGES Constrained right of way Significant adjacent development Adjacent highways Sensitive park/historic resources Heightened security issues Confined Rail Infrastructure Tight track centers Multiple under grade bridges Fixed Overbuilds/Tunnels 11
PROJECT PARTNERS Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) District Department of Transportation (DDOT) CSX Transportation (CSXT) owner of the bridge VA Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) Virginia Railway Express (VRE) 12
PROJECT PARTNERS Planning for DC/VA-specific coordination, focusing on agencies with special areas of interests and/or jurisdiction, for example: National Park Service National Capital Planning Commission Architect of the Capitol Commission on Fine Arts Homeland Security 13
LONG BRIDGE PROJECT FIRST STEPS PHASE 1: Feasibility Study (2013-2014) Lead by DDOT FRA ARRA Grant PHASE 2: Pre-NEPA Activities (2015-2016) Lead by DDOT-VRE-DRPT Partnership FRA ARRA Grant PHASE 3: EIS/Preliminary Engineering (2016-2018) Lead by DDOT-VRE-DRPT Partnership FRA TIGER Grant 14
LONG BRIDGE PROJECT KEY NEPA ACTIVITIES Long Term Service Plan NEPA Preparation & Data Collection Preliminary Engineering to Advance NEPA 15
LONG BRIDGE PROJECT EIS GOALS Provide additional railroad capacity Optimize the physical plant to minimize freight-passenger train conflicts ( fluidity ) Provide redundancy to maintain reliability during maintenance or disrupted conditions 16
LONG BRIDGE PROJECT POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVES TO BE CONSIDERED No-Build Alternative (two tracks) Build Alternatives Phase 2 narrowing Phase 1 alternates One new two-track bridge adjacent to existing bridge (four tracks total) Two new one-track bridges on either side of existing bridge (four tracks total) Rehab/replace existing bridge in either case 17
LONG BRIDGE PROJECT THE EIGHT-MILE BRIDGE Consider Long Bridge as the centerpiece of an eight mile program of interrelated projects Corridor approach to design and implementation Maximize the benefits achieved from public investments Create synergies for construction (design build) Open up alternative for program funding SEGMENT 3 SEGMENT 2 SEGMENT 1 SEGMENT 1 (NORTH) LENGTH: 0.7 miles KEY INFRASTRUCTURE: CURRENT ACTIVITIES: SEGMENT 2 (MIDDLE) LENGTH: 1.4 miles KEY INFRASTRUCTURE: CURRENT ACTIVITIES: L Enfant Station L Enfant North Storage Track L Enfant South Storage Track Storage Track Construction (VRE) L Enfant Station Assessment (VRE) Long Bridge Long Bridge NEPA & PE (DDOT) SEGMENT 3 (SOUTH) LENGTH: 5.8 miles KEY INFRASTRUCTURE: Crystal City Station Slaters Lane Interlocking Alexandria Union Station CURRENT ACTIVITIES: DC2RVA NEPA & PE (DRPT) Slaters Lane/Track #1 Access (VRE) Alexandria Pedestrian Tunnel (VRE) Alexandria Platform Improvement 18 (VRE) Crystal City Station Assessment (VRE)
FUNDING STRATEGIES Assess potential sources Commuter rail traffic predominate Long Bridge user, growing Potential FTA Core Capacity program of improvements Provide equitable balance between public private investments TYPICAL WEEKDAY TRAFFIC MIX IN THE CORRIDOR CSXT Freight 28% Amtrak Intercity Passenger 27% VRE Commuter Passenger 45% TODAY CSXT Freight* 16% VRE Commuter Passenger 54% 2025 Amtrak Intercity Passenger** 29% * Virginia Avenue Tunnel EIS ** DC2RVA EIS 19
Lessons LESSONS Learned LEARNED Engaged Engaged project project management teammanagement team Focused and specific Focused agency and coordination specific agency coordination Build relationships small Small working groups Subject matter experts Work and own the schedule!
LESSONS LEARNED Engaged project management team Focused and specific agency coordination Thank You! small working groups
Oscar J. Gonzalez Project Manager 703-838-9325 OGONZALEZ@VRE.ORG WWW.VRE.ORG 22