The 14th Street Bridge Corridor Transportation Study: A Milestone in the History of Urban Transportation Planning

Many urban areas, such as Washington, DC, are at or near their capacity in terms of operating existing travel lanes or adding additional lanes to address congestion issues. The 14th Street Bridge Corridor is one of the most congested areas in Metropolitan Washington. It is a regionally significant corridor used by a wide variety of travellers not only from Virginia and Washington, DC but from areas beyond. More significant, however, is that it also includes some of 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), in conjunction with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the National Park Service (NPS), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Arlington County, Virginia, and the Department of Defense (DOD). The 14th Street Bridge Corridor EIS represents a milestone in the history of urban transportation planning and environmental assessments in that it demonstrates the likelihood that mobility and safety can be significantly enhanced in a dense urban corridor. Instead of only traditional highway solutions which involve massive construction, impacts, and costs, both low-cost/high-benefit transportation system management (TSM) and transportation demand management (TDM) strategies and multi-modal improvements that address transit, bicycle, and pedestrian needs 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 traffic operations in the 14th Street Bridge Corridor. It concludes with the lessons learned during the project and addresses future transportation issues.