Long Bridge Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Huffman, Ranking Member Lamborn, and my colleague, Representative Don Beyer for the united effort to make sure that we get this Long Bridge bill passed, to make sure we get a new Long Bridge built, because we know that this is critically important, not just for Virginia, for the District, and for Maryland, but for the Nation because of the critical link point that it is for transportation.

As we know, this is in some ways looked at as a regional project, but it is actually more than that.

The First District of Virginia, the district that I represent, spans the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia, which includes one of the worst traffic hot spots in the Nation. That is undeniable. In fact, who knows it better than Members here in Congress what they have to deal with each day in their commute.

As a daily commuter myself, I understand the frustration that folks have. This is going to be a critical point for us to be able to use rail as a very efficient means by which to move people and to move commerce throughout the region. Incredibly important. And with passage of this bill, Congress is providing the adequate resources to leverage the Commonwealth's investment to address issues on I-95.

It has been a great cooperative agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia and CSX, who owns the line, to make sure that this gets done. It is really unprecedented in what they have agreed to, and it is not just this line, but it is also all the connectors. So this is a great step to really enhance our rail system, which we know is incredibly important to address transportation issues, not just across the eastern seaboard but really across the Nation.

An important component of this in reducing traffic congestion in this region, as I said, is commuter rail. And this bridge spans the Potomac, one of those chokepoints, the major chokepoint here on the eastern seaboard.

It is very heavily traveled. There has to be a balance between transit from a commuter standpoint, passenger rail, and freight rail. And many times there is a battle back and forth, and, unfortunately, freight rail prevails in that since freight companies own the rail. We want to make sure that there is balance there, and this provides a balance.

And I have to give CSX credit for coming to the table and saying, listen, we understand how incredibly important passenger rail is. Even though that is not within their purview, they do see how important that is. So it is a real testament to a lot of different entities coming together to make this work.

And just as Representative Beyer said, the existing bridge is at 98 percent capacity during peak hours, and is used by both VRE, the Virginia Railway Express, Amtrak, and CSX. There is a lot of traffic coming across that bridge; we want to make sure that it can all be accommodated.

We know the proposed design for a new track bridge upstream of the current Long Bridge and five additional bridges in Virginia and D.C. provide those connectors and conduits that we need for the region.

The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service director, to convey to and authorize the use by both Virginia and D.C. to be able to utilize a small section of National Park Service land for the construction of the new Long Bridge structure for rail and for an additional, as we have heard, walkable and bikeable pedestrian bridge spanning the Potomac River; incredibly important for the region.

The bill will also convey title and interest to Virginia of about 4.4 permanent acres of National Park Service land for the express purpose of this project.

The National Park Service will authorize Virginia to temporarily use 8.4 acres of land for the construction which reverts back to the National Park Service at the discretion of the NPS director when the project gets completed. So it is essentially construction use while equipment is there, but then it reverts back to the National Park Service.

This project supports projected increases in passenger and freight rail through this corridor, not only now but in the future, and it also enhances economic growth and mobility for the region.

It increases the capacity of the rail network for many areas, including the Port of Virginia, which handles 37 percent of goods that move in and out of that port by rail; a great enhancer.

The Port of Virginia will need to increase that share to 45 percent by 2040 to handle a threefold increase in shipments. This will help them do that.

Building a new Long Bridge doubles the rail capacity at this major bottleneck and is incredibly important for the eastern seaboard but also regionally, for not only Virginia and the District, but also, Maryland; so all incredibly important.

The legislation is a significant milestone in transforming passenger and freight rail service along the East Coast and really making a significant step forward in increasing the capacity and opportunity for freight rail.

The construction is a project of major national significance in unlocking the gridlock in this region and is incredibly important.

Finally, I want to thank again the leadership on the Natural Resources Committee, Chairman Huffman, Ranking Member Lamborn, and my colleague Don Beyer for coleading this effort and also Representative Holmes Norton and the rest of the members of the regional delegations and staff for making this important element work.

I also thank Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine for introducing the Senate companion bill over on the Senate side.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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