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Corridor Issues Safety
Transit Characteristics
Highway Characteristics
Intermodal Relationships
Next Steps
How to Get Involved Call us on the
Study Hotline Check out the Study
Website E-mail comments
or Mail comments or
For web links to other projects and studies in Northern Virginia, visit: www.virginiadot.org/projects Local Advisory Committee Chair: Members: City of Fairfax Prince William Ex Officio:
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Current Study Status
Scoping is a process used to identify the range of alternatives, impacts, and significant issues to be addressed in an EIS. The process includes input from the general public, the Technical and Local Advisory Committees established for the I-66 Study, and appropriate federal, state, regional, and local agencies. Public and agency meetings are an important element of scoping the study. Public Scoping Meetings were held on January 22, 23, 24, 2002, in Centreville, City of Fairfax, and Manassas, respectively. The meetings were attended by approximately 110 people total, and involved one-on-one interaction between citizens and Study Team members. In addition, 29 representatives participated in a meeting for federal, state, regional, and local agencies. The Scoping Process yielded suggestions from 81 different commentors, dated on or before the scoping comment deadline of February 8, 2002. The Study Team reviewed all comment forms, letters, and verbal comments, and broke them down into 323 individual comments. Those comments were grouped into topical categories, based on common themes. The five most common comment themes were:
While the initial scoping process is complete,
the Study Team will continue to solicit and evaluate public and agency input
to ensure that a reasonable range of alternatives are considered in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
The Scoping Process Summary Report, dated May 2002, which lists specific
comments in more detail, and includes study team responses, is available
through the I-66 website (www.infoi66.com), or by calling the I-66 Study
Office at 1-866-INFO I66 (1-866-463-6466). The Scoping Process Summary Report, dated May 2002, which lists specific comments in more detail, and includes study team responses, is available through the I-66 website (www.infoi66.com), or by calling the I-66 Study Office at 1-866-INFO I66 (1-866-463-6466).
One of the early efforts of the I-66 Study was to compile and collect traffic and transit travel related data. Traffic counts were recorded along the I-66 mainline lanes and for each interchange ramp and associated intersection. Current daily traffic volumes range from 45,000 vehicles per day at the western limits of the study to up to 190,000 vehicles per day approaching the Capital Beltway at the eastern limits of the study. Depending on locations along the corridor, traffic within the study area has grown by an average of 33 percent since preliminary I-66 volumes were taken in 1994. Growth in the western portion of the corridor is even more dramatic, with up to a 59 percent increase since 1994. Along with increased traffic volumes, demand for transit has increased. Virginia Railway Express (VRE) ridership for stations near the I-66 corridor increased 52 percent from 1995 to 2001 to a total of about 4,700 riders each day. In recent years, VRE ridership has continued to grow at a rate of 12 to 16 percent each year. The Metrorail Orange Line, which serves the I-66 corridor from Vienna eastward, reported a 25 percent increase in people boarding at stations in Fairfax County (west of the East Falls Church station) since 1995. The Orange Line in Fairfax County currently serves about 23,000 weekday boardings, contributing considerably to person throughput in the I-66 corridor.
The I-66 Multimodal Transportation and Environmental Study (MTES) is a detailed design and environmental study being undertaken in accord with processes identified through NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act of 1969). This process, which requires continual public outreach and agency involvement, is outlined in the chart below. |
The
I-66 Multimodal Transportation and Environmental Study (I-66 Study) was
initiated by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the
Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), in October 2001 to
examine ways of improving mobility along the approximately 24-mile I-66
corridor between I-495 in Fairfax County and U.S. Route 15 in Prince William
County. Study methods, including technical analyses, public involvement
procedures, and alternatives analysis, are being conducted in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and will eventually
be documented in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared jointly
by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA). Building on the findings of the 1999 Major Investment Study (MIS),
the current study will look in more detail at multimodal transportation
improvements including highway, HOV, bus, and rail.
[click
here for study area]
[click
here for review process chart]