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U.S. 50/Capital Gateway (Corridor 33)
Routing
TEA-21 Corridor 33 is known as the Capital Gateway Corridor. Following U.S. 50 from the proposed intermodal transportation center, it will connect to Interstate 395 in Washington, D.C., to the intersection U.S. 50 with District of Columbia Route 295/Kenilworth Avenue and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland.
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) establishes a commission essentially to look at an expressway connection between the northern terminus of the 3rd Street Tunnel (Interstate 395, formerly Interstate 95) at New York Avenue, along the New York Avenue corridor to the Interstate 295/U.S. 50 interchange in Maryland. It specifically calls for investigating a "tunnel or other means" for doing so. In addition, Corridor 33 includes mass transit improvements, such as a station at New York Avenue.
According to Douglas A. Willinger, this corridor is an outgrowth of a recent inititaive by the D.C. Mayor's Office (last that I heard was headed by the same man who was the President of the 1960s-70s group ECTC that worked to stop all D.C. Freeways) for a program of New York Avenue Revitalization, centered around two major additions to the D.C. transportation grid along the New York Avenue corridor: a Metro line, and a road tunnel extension of the 3rd Street tunnel. According to a study so commissioned, such transportation improvements would employ the EXISTING right of way of New York Avenue. The highway tunnel would be a cut and cover design, wrapping around the Bible Way Church complex with a 500 foot radias, continuing easterly beneath N.Y. Avenue to a portal east of the C.S.X. Metropolitan Branch Metro Red line. The Metro tunnel meanwhile would run beneath the cut and cover highway tunnel, via a bored tunnel. Either highway or Metro tunnel could be built after the other, orsimultaneously. Neither would take buildings between Mt. Vernon Square and North Capital Street.
There was a special section in BESTEA (the House bill that evolved into TEA-21) that details the Capital Gateway Corridor. This section was not adopted into the TEA-21 law of 1998.
SEC. 142. NEW YORK AVENUE TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established an authority to be known as the New York Avenue Transportation Development Authority (hereinafter in this section referred to as `Authority').
(b) MEMBERSHIP- The Authority shall be composed of 5 members appointed as follows:
(1) 3 individuals appointed by the President.
(2) 2 individuals appointed by the mayor of the District of
Columbia.
(c) COMPENSATION- Members of the Authority may not receive pay,
allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Authority.
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(d) DUTIES- The Authority shall develop a transportation improvement plan for the Capital Gateway Corridor and vicinity following United States Route 50 from Interstate 395 in Washington, D.C., to the intersection of United States Route 50 with Kenilworth Avenue and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland, which shall include--
(1) engineering, pre-design, and design necessary to improve the corridor; and
(2) economic feasibility studies of financing the project, including the feasibility of repaying funds that may be borrowed from the Highway Trust Fund to carry out the project.
(e) CONSIDERATIONS FOR TIP- In developing the transportation improvement plan, the Authority shall consider--
(1) how a tunnel or other method to re-route interstate traffic from the surface of New York Avenue may improve traffic on and access to the New York Avenue Corridor; and
(2) how to improve access to the National Arboretum.
(f) REPORT- Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Authority shall report to the Congress on any additional legal authorities it needs to carry out the transportation improvement plan.
(g) FUNDING- The Authority is eligible to receive funds authorized under the National Corridor Planning and Development program established in section 115.
Page Updated June 9, 2002.
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