1. Driving Commerce
Future Fantastic
The National Capital Region is one of the most dynamic
growth areas of the country, with a transportation system
moving at breakneck speed to modernize its infrastructure to
accommodate its expanding population and enterprise growth.
A t the forefront is the Metro Rail’s Silver Line
extension through Tyson’s Corner to Dulles
Airport; 20 years in the making, and delayed Image courtesy: VDOT (photography by Trevor Wraton)
incessantly by local interest groups protecting
the environment, the view, the public interest, or
the spotted owl. The project is now “on-track” with
federal and local funding, and within a few years,
commuters will finally be able to go from Capitol
Hill to Dulles Airport - and beyond to Leesburg, at
high speed and low cost; commuters can traverse
the area to the major employment centers of the
region, and the vehicular traffic will be cut by half
- or more, reducing fossil fuel consumption - and
eliminating billions of dollars worth of new road
construction and repairs. Image courtesy: VDOT (photography by Trevor Wraton)
Fairfax County is one of the wealthiest
counties in the nation, with an extensive and
well-designed highway systems designed with
and underwritten by the Virginia Department of
Transportation. The recently completed Spring-
field Interchange is perhaps the most complex
highway nexus in the world, completed in record
time. On the Virginia side of the Wilson Bridge is
another nexus of high-speed, complex convergen-
ces which promise to reduce congestion on one
Image courtesy: VDOT (photography by Trevor Wraton)
of the most heavily traveled roads in the country.
With myriad fly-overs and multi-road merge points
of these two intersections, we witness highway
engineering at its best.
Not to be outdone, Montgomery County in
Maryland has finally come to terms with the
Cross-County Connector which will move com-
muters between employment centers at top
speed and efficiency. Years in fending off NIMBY
issues in lieu of transportation efficiency, it finally
achieved consensus and will be complete within
only 20 years of its conception. Prince George’s
Image courtesy: VDOT (photography by Trevor Wraton)
County hosts National Harbor, the rather spec-
tacular water entrance to the city of Washington; it transit systems of which contribute to the regional
took about ten years to launch. The county is also economy in terms of economic and social develop-
Maryland’s entranceway to the Wilson Bridge, ment. Efficiency in people movement enhances the
newly renovated after the original had fallen into region’s Global Reach, with Washington’s extraor-
total disrepair. When complete, the new Wilson dinary international community representing every
Bridge will be a marvel of transportation architec- culture in the world - each contributing to make the
ture and be a tribute to engineering genius. National Capital Region a global success story.
The National Capital Region now encompass-
es Loudon and Prince William Counties, Annapo-
www.VirginiaDOT.org
lis, and even West Virginia, the highway and mass
1 Best of DC Best of DC 2
Image courtesy: Virginia Department of Transportation (photography by Trevor Wraton)
Image courtesy: Virginia Department of Transportation (photography by Trevor Wraton)