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alarm.” He charged that the planning for this outer beltway has been done in a “transportation vacuum” without consideration given to other ongoing or planned highway construction projects.
The rationale for the outer beltway is that it will reduce congestion on the existing beltway and particularly on the Cabin John Bridge by funneling off northeast bound traffic, Mr. McNear said. But he noted that independent experts, including federal highway administrators, see this as doubtful.
According to Mr. McNear, “a pressure group in Fairfax County is pushing heavily (for the western bypass) and they have the ears of the governor.” They’re rushing to have the highway’s alignment finalized “on paper so they can beat Maryland to the punch,” the planner said, adding that Virginia’s neighbor across the Potomac favors an eastern bypass of Washington. He questioned the fiscal wisdom of building a western bypass instead of following the eastern route around Washington since the first will require 110 miles of new highway construction and the second only 25 miles.
But more important than cost considerations are land use implications, according to Mr. McNear. “Transportation tends to direct growth.” Building the outer beltway through Northern Virginia’s rural outskirts will bring “a significant
growth generator” without addressing its land use impact, Mr. McNear concluded.
Newbill Miller noted that the $1.2 million for this outer beltway was part of the highway package pushed through the General Assembly by the state’s urban legislators.
It’s an indication of the continuing erosion of the power base once held by representatives from Virginia’s more rural areas, he said.
“Well, it’s through and they’re
headed down the pike,” Mr. McNear said. “It might be a long time before we build it and it might not be,” he warned.
In response, the board appointed its administrative assistant, John McCarthy, to work with Mr. McNear as Rappahannock’s representative in organizing a cooperative opposition to the superhighway proposal.
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