Route 1 Transitway Project

What's New

• Route 1 Transitway Construction Office Moving - With the continued development of the Potomac Yard area, the Route 1 Transitway construction office is moving from its current location of the NE corner of the Route 1/Potomac Avenue intersection to the Route 1/E. Bellefonte Avenue intersection adjacent to the southbound Route 1 lanes. The construction trailer will be located on the NW corner while materials and storage will be located on the SW corner of Route 1/E. Bellefonte Avenue. The construction trailer sites will be enclosed with a fence.

  Transitway construction crew members will continue to park near the construction work area on the east side of Route 1 and not in the neighborhoods to the west.

  No construction vehicles for this project will be permitted to travel through the neighborhoods west of Route 1. Vehicles exiting this area will be required to exit towards Route 1.

  Construction for the Route 1 Transitway is on schedule with operation of the transitway to begin in the Spring/Summer of 2014. Once the transitway construction is complete, the staging area will be removed and the site will be restored to its present condition.

  Construction of a multi-family residential development project is expected to begin at the site of the existing transitway construction office area at Route 1/Potomac Avenue

• New Premium Transit Service Announced by WMATA -   Starting in 2014, WMATA will run the region's first premium bus transit service along the Transitway between the Braddock Road and Pentagon City Metrorail stations. The five-mile corridor will offer segments of exclusive running way, frequent service, off-board fare collection, and level boarding. The City of Alexandria, Arlington County, and WMATA have collaborated on the branding to distinguish this new transitway service from other bus services in the region. The service will be called MetroWay and will feature a bold, blue vehicle design, which easily distinguishes the vehicle from other services in the area.
• WMATA MetroWay Bus Branding Concept

• First Cement Pour for Transitway - The City of Alexandria completed the first concrete pour of the transitway on April 4, 2013 in the area south of Swann Avenue.  Cement pours will continue for the next  couple months. 

• Traffic Impacts to Potomac Avenue and Hume Avenue - The City continues construction work between Potomac Avenue and East Glebe Road as part of the Route 1 Transitway
  
• Beginning March 28, vehicles will no longer be able to make left turns from southbound Route 1 at Potomac Avenue.  The City is widening Route 1 north of Potomac Avenue in order to construct dedicated transit lanes and two transitway stations.  As part of this project, the left turn lane, from southbound Route 1 to eastbound Potomac Avenue, will be removed from service.  Left turns will no longer be allowed at this intersection.  Vehicles wishing to access Potomac Avenue from southbound Route 1 can turn left at Howell Avenue or any signalized intersection to the north.  Access to Monroe Avenue from southbound Route 1 via the slip ramp and access to Potomac Avenue from northbound Route 1 will remain. 
• Access to Hume Avenue from northbound Route 1 will also be eliminated from service.  Access to southbound Route 1 at Hume Avenue remains unaffected.  Vehicles wishing to utilize Hume Avenue from northbound Route 1 can turn left at either East Glebe Road or Swann Avenue.
  
• Concurrently, a separate project (completed by a developer) is widening Route 1 to the east to accommodate two lanes of northbound traffic. The existing northbound lanes will be repurposed to include a 12-foot median on either side of a two directional (one lane in each direction) exclusive transitway providing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) between Potomac Avenue and East Glebe Road. In the ultimate configuration of the transitway, buses will operate between Pentagon City Metrorail and Braddock Road Metrorail stations in both exclusive and mixed-use lanes through Arlington County and the City of Alexandria.

April 2013 Construction Activities

•  As weather permits, work will continue in the southbound lanes from 7:00am - 3:30pm and in the northbound lanes from 9:00am - 5:00pm
• Installation of storm structures from Potomac Avenue to Howell Avenue
• Relocation of the street light foundations between Howell and Potomac to allow for the widening of Route 1 for accommodation of the transit stations at Potomac Avenue 
• Continue with concrete pavement Swann Avenue south (weather permitting)

Public Meetings

Related Documents

• Documented Categorical Exclusion for Section B of the Crystal City/Potomac Yard Transitway (Route 1 BRT) - March 2, 2011 
• Conceptual Plans for Section B runningway (from the Documented Categorical Exclusion) - March 2, 2011
• CCPY Transitway Operations Plan - Janaury 2012 
• 30% Concept Design Plans for Section B of the Transitway (Route 1 BRT) - July 8, 2011 
• 60% design plans – part 1 – April 2012
• 60% design plans – part 2 – April 2012
• 60% design plans – part 3 – April 2012
• 60% design plans – part 4 – April 2012
• City Council Presentation - May 2012
• City Council Docket Item - May 2012