The Washington D.C. to Richmond Southeast Higher Speed Rail Project (DC2RVA) has just been made eligible for additional federal funding to advance the project’s planning.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) announced the signing of the Record of Decision and the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement study.
Officials are working to purchase land for the future right-of-way for an expansion of Route 1 at Courthouse Road. But the cost is on the rise due to inflation, county officials said.
Last year, the budgeted cost was about $14 million. Now it’s increased to they’ve doubled, at $18.7 million.
With nearly 90,000 aircraft that fly in and out of the Manassas Regional Airport, which sits on nearly 1,000 acres of land, injecting some $375 million into the local economy each year, officials there say it’s time for the state’s only commuter railroad to recognize its size.
The airport’s operations board has asked Virginia Railway Express to remove the “Broad Run” portion of the name of the commuter railroad station, leaving only the airport’s name, dubbing it “Manassas Airport Station.”
That’s the message from the county’s communications office to members of the Board of Supervisors who are waiting to see if voters will approve the proposed bond at the voting booth on Nov. 5.
The money would go to improve multiple roads, to include
WOODBRIDGE – (Press Release) OmniRide will offer free rides on all buses on Friday, September 20, 2019 to celebrate Virginia’s annual Try Transit Week – an educational event designed to encourage people to try a bus, commuter rail, ferry or vanpool rather than driving alone.
Try Transit Week is set for September 16-20, 2019 and is sponsored by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).
The signs erected at — you guessed it — bus stops, will be placed at stops across the county, and at stops in Arlington and Washington, D.C.
The featured photo in this post shows an example of a new bus stop sign that’s sitting in an OmniRide office. The new signs are expected to make their debut first in western Prince William County in January.
As Virginia studies how to improve Interstate 95, Prince William County and OmniRide are also looking at how to improve six commuter lots along the highway.
The commuter lots toured:
OmniRide officials admitted the organization was caught “flat-footed” during a driver strike in early August.
OmniRide Executive Director Dr. Bob Schneider told his Board of Commissioners that the agency received assurances from the union about 11 days before the strike that there wouldn’t one.
Advocates for the county’s newest zombie road, an extension of Van Buren Road, want the $70 million road project approved by next year.
Members of “Van Buren Now,” a citizen group organized on Facebook and represented at Tuesday’s Prince William Board of County Supervisors by Montclair resident Heather Paige, aims to put pressure on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to extend Van Buren Road from Route 234 near Interstate 95 in Dumfries east to Benita Fitzgerald and Cardinal drives in Dale City.
WOODBRIDGE – (Press Release) OmniRide will test a new style of commuter bus for several weeks in September, continuing to research what vehicles should be included in its fleet of the future.
The new bus that’s being tested features two exits – one at the front and one in the middle – so passengers can disembark quickly. Passengers will continue to enter at the front door where the fare box is located.
