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It might only stretch seven miles, but every inch of a rail corridor used to move hazardous materials through Washington, D.C., poses a security threat to the nation’s capitol, local government officials believe. That’s why for the past two years, the city has been pursuing a haz-mat ban within two miles of D.C.

And why the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) recently completed a nine-month study to determine the feasibility of relocating freight-rail traffic away from the city’s core. Last week, the commission released findings of the study, which NCPC conducted with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and Parsons Brinckerhoff to determine the existing corridor’s constraints and bottlenecks, identify alternative routes, and evaluate the costs and benefits of each.

The recommended alternatives are: a new tunnel from Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Va., to the D.C./Maryland border east of the Anacostia River (estimated cost, $5.3 billion); a new corridor east of the city running between Charles County and Jessup, Md. ($4.7 billion); and a new line east of the city running between Dahlgren, Va., and Jessup ($4.3 billion). The study didn’t identify a preferred route.

Each of the alternatives would eliminate terrorist risks associated with haz-mat shipments moving through D.C., and improve freight- and passenger-rail efficiency in the region by easing train traffic congestion, according to the study, which was funded by a $1 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant. Trains carrying more than 250 million tons of freight and more than 100 million passengers use the corridor annually.

To conduct the study, NCPC and DDOT coordinated their efforts with the District of Columbia Office of Planning, State of Maryland Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Virginia Railway Express, Architect of the Capitol, Federal Railroad Administration, DHS and Transportation Security Administration. NCPC and DDOT also coordinated the study’s findings with CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak.

“Continued cooperation among local, state, federal and private entities must continue to ensure a successful outcome,” said NCPC Executive Director Patricia Gallagher in a prepared statement.

NCPC and DDOT plan to conduct more detailed alignment studies and prepare an Environmental Impact Statement before officials recommend a preferred route.