DASH Expansion

The City acquired 10 acres of property between South Quaker Lane and Roth Street for a facility to house an expanded bus fleet. The construction of a new facility is needed to meet the future needs for Alexandria bus service, as identified by the Year 2020 Regional Mobility Study. This newly acquired land will enable the City to build a bus operations and maintenance facility, expand service for under-served areas within the City, and increase service frequency to achieve industry acceptable headways for transit users.

King Street Metro Station Enhancements

Several improvements were completed in the King Street Metro Station area. These include the new north entrance on King Street to improve connectivity between the Metro station and Alexandria Union Station, drainage improvements along King Street between Cameron Street and Russell Road, and pedestrian improvements around Alexandria Union Station.

In conjunction with the Duke Street Pedestrian Concourse that is being privately constructed, the City and WMATA have completed design concepts for improved pedestrian connectivity between the concourse north portal and the Metro station entrance. Construction of these improvements are scheduled to be completed on or before the June 30, 2004, opening of the Duke Street Pedestrian Concourse. In addition, a new mezzanine entrance to King Street Station is to be constructed on Cameron Street at Commonwealth Avenue. A design-build contractor will be selected in December 2003, and construction will begin in spring of 2004 and be completed in fall of 2005.

Mill Road

Phase I of the Mill Road project was completed in FY 2003. This project realigned and reconstructed Mill Road from Roberts Lane on the east to the Telegraph Road overpass on the west. The finished roadway is designed to accommodate 20,000 projected trips per day. Phase II of the project extends Mill Road west from the Telegraph Road overpass to Eisenhower Avenue, beyond the new Department of Motor Vehicles center. The study and design for Phase II were completed in FY 2003, and construction is scheduled to be completed in FY 2004.

Comprehensive Transportation Policy and Program

Phases I and II, data collection and community input, of the Comprehensive Transportation Policy and Program project were completed in early fall of 2003. Phase III, policy and program development, will be underway through early 2004. Upon completion of Phase III, a draft transportation policy and program will be submitted for consideration and adoption.

Eisenhower-Duke Connector

A City Council appointed task force reviewed transportation and traffic alternatives to connect Eisenhower Avenue and Duke Street in the area bound by Telegraph Road, Van Dorn Street, Duke Street and Eisenhower Avenue. The review was to determine the pros and cons of constructing one or more roadways connecting these two major arterials. City Council held numerous work sessions and meetings on the subject. After considering recommendations from the task force, Council voted to continue studying the need for such a roadway, possibly as part of the City's study of the western portion of the Eisenhower Valley.

WMATA Funding

In FY 2003 the City paid $15.7 million as its share of the operating deficit of the regional Metrobus and Metrorail system. This $15.7 million was comprised of $2.7 million in City funds, $1.6 million in regional gas tax revenue, $9.0 million in state funds and $2.4 million from miscellaneous other sources. In addition to operating payments, the City provided $3.7 million as its share of the region's Metrobus and Metrorail capital improvement program. This was comprised of $1.0 million in City funds and $2.7 million in state funds. It is expected in FY 2005 and beyond that the regional transit authority which operates Metrobus and Metrorail will need substantially increased local financial support unless the state and federal government materially increase their planned financial contributions.

Eisenhower Valley Multi-Use Trail

The City was awarded $296,000 in federal funds to complete the first phase of the Eisenhower Valley pedestrian and bicycle trail. This funding supplements the $372,000 the City received in 2002 for the trail. The two-mile section of trail in Phase I runs from Hensley Park to Telegraph Road. Construction work on the trail is expected to begin in February 2004 and to be completed in September 2004.

Snow Costs

Due to the record snowfall of this past winter, the City incurred snow-related costs of approximately $1.5 million. These costs included snow removal, employee overtime, contract services, and equipment repairs and maintenance and supplies relative to snow removal efforts at City roads, parking lots and buildings. Since these costs were above the budgeted amount of $300,000, in June 2003, City Council approved a supplemental appropriation to offset the snow contingencies that were not reimbursable from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Infrastructure Improvements

During FY 2003, $12.5 million was expended on road improvements, including a major project to realign Mill Road, maintaining and repaving City streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters. In addition, another $3.7 million was expended on repairing and maintaining the City's sanitary and storm sewer infrastructure, and $.6 million was spent on municipal waterfront improvements.

Route 1 Transit Study

The Route 1 corridor, particularly adjacent to Potomac Yard, will undergo significant development pressures over the next 10 years. Earlier studies have determined that private automobiles alone can not meet these needs adequately. Additional transit service must be used to serve this corridor. The first step required to fund such a transit system is to conduct an analysis of different transit options.

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation contracted with a consultant to perform such a study. This study indicated that there was sufficient projected transit demand to justify some type of higher capacity transit in the area. The study established that a new Metrorail station, bus rapid transit, and a light rail line are feasible means of addressing this transportation need. The next step in obtaining federal funds for any of these options is to develop an environmental impact statement which will analyze all of these options in depth, and recommend an option to pursue, based upon economic, engineering and social factors. The City has submitted a request for Regional Surface Transportation funds and a request to the commonwealth to partially fund such a study. The City is also exploring other avenues for obtaining federal funds for this project. If these requests and those of others are honored, the next phase of determining what type of high capacity transit will be employed in the corridor will commence.

Tax Referendum Vote

A regional transportation funding referendum was supported by Alexandria voters (51%) in November 2002, but the referendum failed in Northern Virginia. The proposal was expected to produce $140 million region wide in its first full year, or about $4.4 billion over 20 years. Seven projects on the list, totaling about $210 million, would have benefited Alexandria, and additional projects would have been added in later years.

Alexandria's Department of Transportation and Environmental Services replaced many of the old metal street signs at intersections along Duke and Van Dorn Streets with new 4-foot, easy to see illuminated signs suspended from traffic signal arms.