Kaine Leads Colleagues in Pushing for Federal Investments to Reduce Congestion between Richmond and Hampton Roads, Improve Route 1 in Arlington
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine led U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner (both D-VA) and U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7), Donald McEachin (D-VA-4), Bobby Scott (D-VA-3), Elaine Luria (D-VA-2), and Robert Wittman (R-VA-1) in pushing U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to direct federal infrastructure dollars to Virginia to ease congestion on I-64 between Richmond and Hampton Roads. Kaine also led Warner, Spanberger, McEachin, Luria, Wittman, and U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-8) in urging the Secretary to improve safety and accessibility in the Route 1 corridor in Arlington.
The funding is being requested by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant Program (MPDG), which was created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was supported by Kaine, Warner, Spanberger, McEachin, Scott, Luria, and Beyer.
On the I-64 project, the lawmakers wrote: “The corridor is a critical link between Richmond and Hampton Roads. Combined, these two areas comprise the 17th largest economic region in the United States. Addressing the I-64 gap will expand the capacity for the flow of goods and services, ensure safety, augment national security, expand broadband connectivity, enhance commuter mobility, and provide resiliency from extreme weather and climate conditions.”
On the Arlington project, the lawmakers wrote: “This grant request will allow Virginia to convert the Route 1 corridor in Arlington into a multimodal urban boulevard that prioritizes pedestrian safety in a walkable environment. VDOT is developing multimodal solutions for Route 1 to meet National Landing’s transportation needs with the coming of Amazon and other related developments…Investment in National Landing will produce significant, measurable benefits to the economy, health, and safety of local citizens.”
Full text of the I-64 OpportUnity Connector project letter is available here.
Full text of the National Landing project letter is available here.
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