THE 14TH STREET BRIDGE CORRIDOR TRANSPORTATION STUDY: A Milestone in the History of Urban Transportation Planning

摘要

Many urban areas, such as Washington, DC, are at or near their capacity in terms of operatingexisting travel lanes or adding additional lanes to address congestion issues. The 14th StreetBridge Corridor is one of the most congested areas in Metropolitan Washington. It is aregionally significant corridor used by a wide variety of travellers not only from Virginia andWashington, DC but from areas beyond. More significant, however, is that it also includes someof the most important cultural and historical resources in the Nation.The Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD) of the Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) is conducting the 14th Street Bridge Corridor Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), inconjunction with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the National Park Service(NPS), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Arlington County, Virginia, and theDepartment of Defense (DOD).The 14th Street Bridge Corridor EIS represents a milestone in the history of urban transportationplanning and environmental assessments in that it demonstrates the likelihood that mobility andsafety can be significantly enhanced in a dense urban corridor. Instead of only traditionalhighway solutions which involve massive construction, impacts, and costs, both low-cost/highbenefittransportation system management (TSM) and transportation demand management(TDM) strategies and multi-modal improvements that address transit, bicycle, and pedestrianneeds with minimal impacts to the environment were studied with promising results.The contents of this paper describe the complex, collaborative process utilized to assess, analyze,and select a variety of alternatives to reduce congestion, enhance safety, and improve trafficoperations in the 14th Street Bridge Corridor. It concludes with the lessons learned during theproject and addresses future transportation issues.