The Crystal City to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (CC2DCA) project has reached its next milestone of 30 percent design. This project will help meet the growing need for intermodal connectivity between Crystal City in Arlington County and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), which are currently divided by the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority/CSXT rail corridor and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The new CC2DCA Multimodal Connection will provide pedestrians, bicyclists, and micro mobility users with a convenient connection between Crystal City, the future Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Crystal City Station, DCA, a national air travel hub, and the multi-use Mount Vernon Trail. VHB is leading the 30 percent design phase and has been involved in this project in various capacities since 2017, including a feasibility study for the National Landing Business Development District (BID) and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Arlington County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
Arlington County and VDOT partnered with VHB to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) as part of the NEPA process to evaluate environmental impacts on a range of connector alternatives. Public engagement has been a significant part of this process—both in person and virtual—to offer the public an opportunity to engage with the study, ask questions, and provide feedback. The preferred alternative was approved in May by the Arlington County Board and will be the basis for the 30 percent design phase. It also received concurrence from the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February. Arlington County also coordinated the development of the preferred alternative with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which manages DCA.
“The CC2DCA project has been a collective spirit of collaboration and shared commitment from all involved,” said Laurent Cartayrade, Environmental Team Leader for VHB. “Agencies and stakeholders have merged their talents, perspectives, and knowledge to deliver an outcome that truly prioritizes the community’s needs for increased efficiency, reliability, sustainability, and connectivity—an important step toward the broader goal for the Capital Region’s transportation network.”
The preferred alternative consists of a pedestrian girder bridge, which includes longitudinal beams resting on vertical columns across the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The preferred alternative is more centrally located on the future VRE and Amtrak platforms and will have less impact on parking at DCA than other considered alternatives. It also includes a link to the NPS-managed Mount Vernon Trail, an 18-mile multi-use trail that winds along the Potomac River connecting George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate to Theodore Roosevelt Island.
The EA will be published later this summer and will describe the environmental impacts on the preferred alternative, another build alternative, and the no action alternative. The public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the full EA during a 40-day public review process—the fourth round of public engagement opportunity for this project.
In addition to the CC2DCA project, VHB is working on numerous projects to enhance connectivity and mobility within the region, including Washington Union Station, VRE’s Crystal City Station, and Long Bridge. To learn more about this work, contact Laurent via email or connect with him on LinkedIn.
