UPDATE: Good news -- this bill failed to report out of a House Appropriations Subcommittee on a 2-5 vote.

PEC's Position: Opposed

House Bill 277 would prioritize the construction of a brand new toll-highway bypass around Washington DC. This type of project has been studied over and over again, and found not to be justified due to its failure to ease traffic congestion and multi-billion dollar price tag. HB 277 would:

1. Prioritize a road project that doesn't meet the needs of most residents --A new bypass through Northern Virginia would run largely north to south, when the vast majority of people are trying to move from west to east to jobs using I-66, Route 50, the Dulles Toll Road or Route 7.
2. Waste extremely limited transportation dollars-- Tolls along this rural corridor would never raise enough money, so tax dollars would be diverted to this project, instead of funding fixes for the traffic on I-66 and other commuter corridors.
3. Induce sprawl -- The "Washington Bypass" would open rural areas in Stafford, Fauquier, Prince William and Loudoun to sprawling development, exacerbating congestion instead of solving it.

HB 277 also ignores legislation that was passed last year in the General Assembly (HB 2019- Rust 2009) that established a process for corridor projects of interest. The proposed bill would circumvent that process by placing one particular corridor in the Washington, DC area above all others in the rest of the state.

Bill Summary:

The bill states:

"The Commonwealth Transportation Board shall forthwith establish, consistent with the provisions of Chapter 670 of the Acts of Assembly of 2009, a Washington Bypass transportation corridor in order to facilitate and prioritize the construction of a limited access highway to expedite the non-stop passage of traffic passing through the Washington metropolitan area. Such bypass shall be a toll facility with very few exits, except for one providing access to Washington Dulles International Airport."

Patron: Delegate David B. Albo (R-District 42)

View bill text and status.

*The status and text of bills change often, so be sure to check the Legislative Information System website for the most current information for this bill.