Warner, Kaine Announce $25 Million To Fund Northstar Boulevard Project in Loudoun County
~ Funds will help build four-lane divided roadway to reduce traffic ~
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced today that Loudoun County will receive $25 million in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to help alleviate traffic congestion. The grant will allow Loudoun County to construct a new 1.6-mile segment of Northstar Boulevard to complete a 14-mile north-south corridor connecting to U.S. Route 50 – a key transportation route within the County. Sens. Warner and Kaine sent letters last year to DOT in support of Loudoun County’s TIGER grant application.
“In the past ten years, the population of Loudoun County has increased by more than 32 percent, faster than any other county in the Commonwealth,” said the Senators. “Over the next ten years, the County’s population is expected to grow by another 20 percent. This growth in population and jobs is only possible with continued investment in roads and other transportation infrastructure, and that’s why it is so important that we continue the TIGER grant program and continue to invest in our nation’s infrastructure. These federal funds will help Loudoun County upgrade its transportation network so it is better prepared to meet the needs of its increasing population and workforce.”
The new Northstar Boulevard segment will be designed as a controlled access thoroughfare comprised of a four-lane divided roadway located within a proposed six-lane right-of-way. It will include a 10-foot wide shared-use path and 6-foot wide sidewalks, three signalized intersections, and two new bridges. The $25 million in federal funds represents more than one-third of the total cost of the project, according to the County.
The funding was provided through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program, which provides a unique opportunity for the DOT to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives.
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