The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to consider a number of proposals that could drastically reshape the Route One corridor, finally realizing plans that have been in the works for years.
Earlier this month, the board received a series of resolutions from the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens’ Associations designed to improve traffic flow and provide for mass transit on Richmond Highway. The Board of Supervisors referred these proposals to its transportation committee.

"There is a lot of momentum behind this," said Kahan Dhillon, chairman of the Mount Vernon Council’s strategic planning committee. "Frankly, I have to say this is long overdue."

Dhillon said that Route One has been under-funded for years, and that the crisis created by the influx of more than 20,000 new commuters to Fort Belvoiwr has created a confluence of events that has opened the door to economic development. One resolution urges the county to help secure funding for widening Richmond Highway to six lanes from Buckman Road to Prince William County. Another resolution requests that the Virginia Department of Transportation undertake a study to explore the feasibility of light rail or monorail along the corridor.

"At this point, the whole community needs to get involved in lobbying the Board of Supervisors to make this happen," said Catherine Voorhees, chairwoman of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens’ Associations Transportation Committee. "Transportation money is given to the Board of Supervisors, and we want the money moved to our end of the county."

SUPERVISORS ALSO received a request from the board of directors of the new National Museum of the United States Army to fund a series of access roads. Because the site for the new museum — near the Fairfax County Parkway and Kingman Gate — is federal land, appropriations for improvements require congressional approval. As a result, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) requested the museum’s board of directors to ask the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to add funding for fire access, parking, circulation and an access road to the amphitheater. Supervisors referred this request to its legislative committee.

"People have been so focused on the 20,000 plus new commuters to Fort Belvior that many people have overlooked the impact the museum is going to have," said Dhillon. This is going to dramatically increase the number of cars we have on a corridor that’s already stretched beyond the breaking point."

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) is pushing the Department of Defense to fund improvements to Route One. He recently met with the department’s undersecretary for building and installations to make the case for expanding the use of money available through the Defense Access Roads program. The money is currently limited to projects inside of military installments, but Moran would like to see money used on the Route One corridor because of the thousands of new military jobs that will be adding commuters to Route One when military jobs move to Fort Belvior.

"We are going to push for this legislatively," said Austin Durrer, Moran’s chief of staff. "When the Defense Authorization Bill comes up next year, we are going to try to change the language in the Defense Access Roads criteria."