Authority Meeting Highlights

July 9, 2021

Last evening, the full Authority met in person for the first time since March 2020, convening at the NVTA offices in Fairfax. The Governor of Virginia’s declared state of emergency restrictions for meeting in-person in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, expired as of June 30th. We welcome our newest member of the Authority, John Lynch, P.E., Northern Virginia District Engineer, Virginia Department of Transportation! 

We have to admit, it was good seeing everyone's smiling faces gathered in one room once again.

Authority Member Selfie: Ann Wheeler, Chair, Prince William Co.; Katie Cristol, Arlington Co. Board Member, and Justin Wilson, Mayor, City of Alexandria (Photo Credit: Justin Wilson)

Below, you will find highlights from last evening's discussions. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity to apply for $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2021 discretionary grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants. RAISE was formerly known as BUILD and TIGER. RAISE provides a unique opportunity for the DOT to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives.

The eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors at the State and local levels to obtain funding for multimodal, multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to support through traditional DOT programs. Projects for RAISE funding will be evaluated based on merit criteria that include safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation and partnership.

A request for application endorsement was received by Fairfax County for the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project. The Richmond Highway BRT Project is in NVTA's long-range transportation plan for NoVA, TransAction, and has received $250 million in funding from the Authority as part of its FY2018-2023 Six Year Program. The Authority unanimously endorsed Fairfax County's RAISE grant application for the Richmond Highway BRT Project.

• Telecommuting. The Region continues to show high percentage of employees working from home. According to a special Census survey (online Household Pulse Survey), about 47% of workers in Washington D.C. Metro area worked from home in June.
• Highway Travels. Volumes on freeways and major arterials in Northern Virginia have been trending upward. In June, volumes are reported to be within 92% of pre-COVID conditions compared to 89% in May. 
• Travel Pattern by Time-of-Day. Although there was a decline in travel in AM Peak, there was an increase in mid-day travel, building up to similar evening rush hour congestions.