Gov. Bob McDonnell and Gov. Martin O'Malley.Photo credit: Politico.
Governor Bob McDonnell recently broached the idea of a new Potomac River crossing with Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, reports Toll Road News.
No other project in the Washington, D.C., metro area has comparable potential for improving mobility and taking unnecessary traffic off Beltway, the trade publication quotes Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton as saying. “We are starting the process. I’ve already had some discussion with them about a joint effort.”
It’s not clear where the crossing would be located, but Connaughton suggested it would be upriver from the Washington Beltway where it could serve as direct link between the Rockville-Gaithersburg-Germantown area in Maryland and Reston-Sterling-Dulles-Chantilly in NoVa.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved last year the development of a “Corridor of Statewide Significance” master plan that would cut through Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Although the corridor would terminate at Rt. 7, Smart Growth lobbyists fear that the corridor could be easily extended to the Potomac and converted to an outer beltway.
Hat tip: Larry Gross.
— JAB
