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Anti-sprawl groups against Potomac River Crossings

Oct. 28, 2002

According to a technical analysis conducted by Smart Mobility Inc

According to a technical analysis conducted by Smart Mobility Inc. and Anita Kramer Associates Inc. showed that proposed Potomac River crossings and expressways connecting northern Virginia with Montgomery or Frederick County, Md., would spur sprawl, traffic and pollution growth. The report also said the so-called Techway and Western Transportation Corridor would reduce traffic on the American Legion Bridge by less than 2%.

Environmental Defense, the Chesapeake By Foundation, Solutions Not Sprawl, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States and the Piedmont Environmental Council contracted the study. Utilizing real estate market data and a refined version of the latest Council of Governments regional traffic model, the consultants determined the land use and transportation effects of two proposed crossings that are components of proposed outer beltways.

The groups claim traffic on Route 7 in Virginia adjacent to a new interchange would almost double compared to a no-build scenario and traffic on Maryland Route 28 would nearly triple.

"It's simple, a new bridge and associated highway will shift land use and traffic and spark increased congestion in many parts of the region," said Lee Epstein, lands program director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.