I-66 Multimodal Study Final Report - Virginia Department of ...

Mobility OptionsBaseline Assumptions for 2040The 2040 Baseline for the I-66 Multimodal Study is called the CLRP+ Baseline and is comprisedof the 2011 Fiscally Constrained Long-Range Plan (CLRP) plus the recommended bus servicesand TDM measures from the 2009 Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation(DRPT) I-66 Transit/TDM Study. The CLRP is developed cooperatively by governmentalbodies and agencies represented on the National Capital Region TPB and identifies all regionallysignificant transportation projects and programs that are planned and funded in theWashington metropolitan area between 2011 and 2040. Projects are identified for inclusion inthe CLRP individually by Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Because the CLRPis updated each year to include new projects and programs, and analyzed to ensure that itmeets Federal requirements relating to funding and air quality, it represents the most up-todateprogramming of projects in the region.CLRP+ improvements (i.e., CLRP projects for 2040 plus recommendations from the I-66Transit/TDM Study) are detailed later in this report, in Section 3.3. Key assumptions includedin the CLRP+ Baseline are: I-66 restricted to Bus/HOV 3+ in the peak direction; I-66 westbound spot improvements #1, #2, #3; Same I-66 HOV hours of operation as today; Silver Line Phase I (to Wiehle Avenue) and Silver Line Phase II (to Dulles); New and enhanced Priority Bus services on I-66, U.S. 29, and U.S. 50; TDM elements from the I-66 Transit/TDM Study; and Metrorail core capacity improvements, including eight-car trains.Previous investment in Metrorail has resulted in a high-capacity transit service in the studyarea. Although funding is not provided in the CLRP for the additional rail cars and powersystemupgrades required to operate 100 percent eight-car trains, the additional Metrorail corecapacity improvements bring corridor Metrorail service in the CLRP+ Baseline scenario to themaximum level possible without construction of major additional physical infrastructure. Asshown in Figure 2.4, this represents a major increase in Metrorail service supplied in the corridorbetween 2007 and the 2040 CLRP+ Baseline scenario. More frequent rail service is not possibleon the existing tracks, as the CLRP+ Baseline already assumes 26 trains per hour at theRosslyn Tunnel, the maximum that can be accommodated.The I-66 Multimodal Study was designed to build on previous studies in the corridor, principallythe recent DRPT I-66 Transit/TDM Study completed in 2009. Given the relevance of theI-66 Transit/TDM Study and the jurisdictional buy-in that resulted from that effort, recommendationsfor bus service and TDM were carried forward into the Baseline scenario. TheCLRP+ Baseline scenario includes a substantial increase in bus services over the existing conditions,as shown in Figure 2.5. The majority of the increase in bus service supply at the cutlinesis due to Priority Bus services on I-66, U.S. 29, and U.S. 50 recommended in the I-66Transit/TDM Study.I-66 Multimodal Study 2-13