Virginia breaks ground on $2.3B Long Bridge project

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $2.3 billion project to construct a new Long Bridge, which will increase capacity for passenger-rail service over the Potomac River.

The largest of the commonwealth's "Transforming Rail in Virginia" projects, the new two-track railroad bridge will connect Arlington, Virginia, with Washington, D.C., allowing for the expansion of rail service to meet future demand, VPRA officials said in a press release. Construction activities including site preparation will begin over the next few weeks with large-scale construction beginning in 2025.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2030. The new bridge will be constructed next to the existing bridge, a 119-year-old river crossing that currently operates at 98% capacity during peak periods — and will relieve one of the largest rail traffic bottlenecks on the East Coast.

Additionally, the new bridge will help separate passenger rail from freight rail, improving the on-time performance for both, authority officials said.

Ceremony attendees included VPRA officials, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), and U.S. Reps. Gerry Connelly (D-Va.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).

"In Virginia, our crippling traffic has truly become a bipartisan issue, and the Long Bridge groundbreaking represents our bipartisan solution,” said VPRA Executive Director DJ Stadtler. “But it’s not just Virginians who will benefit. Travelers from Boston to Miami will feel the effects of this project, and through our Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, VPRA’s capital investments will add $7.2 billion to our economy.”

Virginia's Transforming Rail initiative calls for moving Virginians by using an existing rail corridor and building new infrastructure. When completed, Transforming Rail will enable the state’s Amtrak Virginia service to offer a total of 13 daily roundtrips up from eight currently, traveling throughout the state and connecting to the Northeast Corridor.

VPRA began its Traveling Rail expansion by purchasing rail right-of-way from freight partners CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway. In the past two years, VPRA has acquired nearly 500 miles of railroad right-of-way in corridors along Interstate 95, I-64, I-85, I-81 and I-66. Last month, VPRA signed a new deal with NS to purchase the Manassas Line and gain access to the Class I's Main Line for service to the New River Valley.