Home Projects Northern Virginia District Route 1 multimodal improvements study

Route 1 multimodal improvements study in Arlington County

City/county: Arlington

Overview

U.S. Route 1 (Richmond Highway) is a major north-south arterial and part of the National Highway System. Regionally, Route 1 is a primary arterial road connecting Washington, D.C., Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and southern suburbs including Fairfax and Prince William counties. Route 1 carries 55,000 vehicles per day in the Crystal City area of Arlington County.

In late 2018, with the announcement of an agreement to bring Amazon's new corporate headquarters to Crystal City, the Commonwealth of Virginia identified improvements to Route 1 as one of five transportation projects to be fully or partially funded by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth’s commitment to Amazon is to improve safety, accessibility, and the pedestrian experience crossing Route 1.

The purpose of this study was to identify enhanced multimodal connectivity and accommodations along and across Route 1 in Crystal City, to meet the changing transportation needs of this growing urban activity center. The need for this study was two-fold:

Multimodal transportation demand is increasing from the creation of an additional Amazon U.S. Headquarters (HQ2) and other ongoing development in the Crystal City and Pentagon City areas.
These areas are already heavily developed with limited space for expanding the footprint of the transportation network.

This study did not set design or construction dates and was performed in close coordination with Arlington County staff and other local and regional stakeholders.

Study goals

Safety: Improve multimodal safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, micro-mobility modes, transit and vehicles along and across Route 1.
Multimodal accessibility and accommodation: Increase multimodal accessibility and accommodation along and across Route 1.
Transit effectiveness: Make transit more accessible, reliable, and convenient.
Vehicular operations: Maintain an appropriate level of vehicular operation and accommodation along Route 1 and on intersecting streets: 15th Street, 18th Street, 20th Street, and 23rd Street.
Environmental: Preserve, protect, or enhance the built, natural, visual, and social environments.
Urban fabric: Integrate Route 1 within the context of Crystal City and Pentagon City as a multimodal urban boulevard design consistent with context of the surrounding existing and future built environment.

Phase 1

The first phase of this study ended in October 2021 with the release of the Phase 1 Executive Summary and Full Report and Appendices that are posted below under "Resources." The first phase explored an at-grade urban boulevard but also reviewed and compared potential improvements to the current elevated condition, and it examined the elevated urban boulevard described in the Crystal City Sector Plan.

Based on the findings and conclusions of the first phase and the comparisons of the concepts using numerous measures of effectiveness, VDOT recommends converting the segment of elevated urban freeway between 12th Street South and 20th Street South to an at-grade urban boulevard with wide spaces along Route 1 for sidewalks, street trees, lighting and other amenities desired by Arlington County residents and property owners, with safe crossings of Route 1 for pedestrians, bicyclists and other users. The recommended configuration will provide the greatest benefit to the corridor in the context of an evolving walkable, connected and urban Crystal City.

The first phase also recommended a second phase in which a robust travel demand management (TDM) strategy would be developed aimed at reducing future traffic volumes, and a potential grade-separated pedestrian crossing at 18th Street South would be reviewed.

Phase 2

The second phase of this study began in December 2021 and further explored the feasibility of the at-grade roadway recommend in the first phase.

Phase 2 included:

Developing TDM strategies to reduce vehicular trips through the area to below 2019 volumes.
Additional feasibility analyses and multimodal street design, including reviewing a potential grade-separated pedestrian crossing at 18th Street South.
Updating the Phase 1 multimodal transportation analyses.

Get involved

Comments or questions? Send them to: route1multimodalstudy@vdot.virginia.gov or Dan Reinhard, P.E., Project Manager, VDOT's Northern Virginia District Office, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.