Long Bridge project breaks ground, promising smoother rail commutes over Potomac
A groundbreaking ceremony for a new two-track railroad bridge over the Potomac River took place yesterday (Tuesday) with several federal officials in attendance.
Attending the formal construction kickoff for the Long Bridge Project — part of a $729 million effort to reduce bottlenecks and improve reliability for commuters — were U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and other Northern Virginia congressional representatives.
"Rarely in the United States will you find a single piece of infrastructure on which so many people depend every single day," Buttigieg said. "A more modern structure and updated capacity are going to be vital to sustain that level of traffic, and we're going to have a lot more coming."
The new bridge, which will be built alongside the current Long Bridge, is designed to boost passenger rail service across the Potomac and improve train reliability.
The current bridge, run by CSX Transportation, is over 100 years old and operates at 98% capacity during peak hours, according to a project page . With around 80 CSX, Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains crossing daily, it supports about 4.5 million VRE commuters and 1.3 million Amtrak passengers each year.
"This has been a choke point for rail traffic all up and down the East Coast," Buttigieg said. "If you're coming out of Boston, out of New York, and you wanted to get anywhere south of Washington on the train, this was the choke point. Adding this additional capacity is huge."
The new bridge is set to be built between Long Bridge Park in Arlington and East Potomac Park in the District. The U.S. Department of Transportation has also awarded $20 million for a pedestrian bridge that will run alongside the tracks.
County Board member Takis Karantonis, who represents Arlington on the VRE Operations Board, said this builds on several other public infrastructure projects in the works near Crystal City. These include a forthcoming new VRE station , new Crystal City Metro entrance and new pedestrian bridge improving access to Reagan National Airport.
Karantonis suggested that better rail connectivity can reduce reliance on air travel , drive down prices of Amtrak tickets, and sharpen the federal government's focus on Arlington.
"You cannot get Congress to pay attention until you get the infrastructure where you can run alternatives," he told ARLnow. "Now [that] we have the infrastructure means that in the next few years, we will be able to command the attention of political decisions — and this is really very important."
The Long Bridge Project is expected to be completed by 2030.
