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HOUSE OF DELEGATES
RICHMOND
UGO
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS:
SCOTT A. SUROVELL
CITIES, COUNTIES & TOWNS
PO BOX 289
July 18, 2010
Secretary Ray LaHood
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary LaHood:
I am writing to urge you to approve Fairfax County’s request for allocation of $78.0 million in
Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II Program grant funds. The Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors has approved the County Department of Transportation’s request and is
prepared to meet the 20 percent Local Cash Match required for these grants, should they be received.
The funds, made available under the National Infrastructure Investment Program will be used to address
five key transportation and infrastructure issues throughout Fairfax County.
I believe the most significant priority in this application is funding for the Richmond Highway
Transit Study ($1.0 million). Richmond Highway runs through the 44th District for just under seven miles
and serves as the primary transportation artery for Mount Vernon residents. U.S. 1 has not been
widened between Telegraph Road and Huntington Avenue since 1971 and we are seeing the adverse
impacts of that today. The lack of improvements and investment has come at a high cost for area
businesses and residents.
In 1994, my predecessor, Delegate Toddy Puller, sponsored successful legislation authorizing the
U.S. 1 Centerline Study which was completed in the fall of 2009. However, the study did not make
recommendations for a new alignment of U.S. 1 in our district between Woodlawn and the City of
Alexandria due to Federal Highway Administration’s requirement for a transit study due to planned rail
and other transit improvements in the corridor. The TIGER II, if allocated, would provide the study
necessary to complete a centerline study and plan for long‐term changes to U.S. 1.
The U.S. 1 Corridor in Fairfax County is one of the most economically depressed areas of Fairfax
County. Our average family household income is by far the lowest in Fairfax County, and we have not
seen the kind of revitalization that transportation improvements such as Metro and light rail have
brought to other areas. The Yellow Line of the Metro ends at the very northern tip of this area, but
could be extended all the way to Fort Belvoir and beyond to Woodbridge. The funding and completion
It is also important to note that my district lies at the northern boundary to Fort Belvoir which is
experiencing major changes due to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). This
segment of U.S. 1 will be a primary access route for the $900 million hospital being constructed at Ft.
Belvoir to replace Walter Reed Army Medical Center, along with other command changes, and other
traffic impacts caused by the relocation of 9,000 employees to Fort Belvoir North Area a few miles to the
west. The U.S. Army is also beginning preliminary planning for the U.S. Army Museum at Fort Belvoir
which anticipates 400,000 visitors per year. Our area is behind where we should be on mitigating these
impacts and the transit study will allow us to begin to plan for the future.
I again urge you to approve Fairfax County’s request and allocate the funds requested. Please let
me know if there are any questions or if I can provide any further information in support of this request.
Sincerely Yours,
Delegate Scott A. Surovell
44th District, Mount Vernon
cc: Congressman James P. Moran
Congressman Gerry Connolly
State Senator Toddy Puller
State Senator Patsy Ticer
Delegate David Englin
Delegate Mark Sickles
Secretary Sean Connaughton
Supervisor Gerry Hyland
Supervisor Jeff McKay
Supervisor Sharon Bulova