Virginia nets $729 million for Long Bridge expansion 

Virginia officials announced Thursday that the state has netted $729 million in federal funds to help pay for the expansion of the Long Bridge over the Potomac, widely seen as the biggest rail choke point along the East Coast. 

“This investment will help transform the rail system in Virginia, improving the flow of people and goods not only within the commonwealth, but up and down the East Coast,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin in a statement. “This project’s impact on the commonwealth cannot be overstated — it will ease congestion, make our supply chain more resilient, improve freight movement in and out of our world-class port and boost local economies.” 

The money follows an announcement earlier this week, first reported by Axios, that the U.S. Department of Transportation will spend $1 billion on a passenger rail line between Richmond and Raleigh, North Carolina. While Virginia Passenger Rail Authority spokesperson Karina Romero noted that none of that money will be spent on work in Virginia — it will go toward construction between Raleigh and Wake Forest — she said “it will definitely aid in the completion of the Richmond to Raleigh project.”  

The latest funds come from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program, created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

Long Bridge rail project barrels forward full speed ahead

Under former Gov. Ralph Northam, Virginia began investing heavily in rail improvements, particularly along major interstate corridors. In 2019, with the goal of expanding passenger and commuter rail throughout the state, Virginia struck a $525 million agreement with CSX Transportation to acquire 223 miles of track and 384 miles of right-of-way. 

The Long Bridge, a two-track span over the Potomac that is more than a century old, is a critical part of the state’s plans. Owned by CSX, the conduit is the sole way for trains to cross from Virginia into Washington, D.C.; the alternative is a rail bridge nearly 70 miles west at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Officials have said the Potomac bridge operates at 98% capacity at peak hours. 

“All the rail in the Northeast to get to the Southeast has to come over that Long Bridge that was first built in 1808,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, told reporters Thursday. “It’s been rebuilt since then, but it’s been a choke point that really ratchets down the degree to which you can put both freight and passenger rail from Virginia into D.C.” 

To alleviate the bottleneck the current infrastructure causes, Virginia plans to construct a new two-track bridge directly adjacent to the Long Bridge for passenger rail, doubling capacity across the Potomac. A new bicycle and pedestrian bridge will also be built between Arlington and Washington, D.C. 

The $729 million the state was awarded this week will “fill a financial gap” in Virginia’s efforts to not only build the new Long Bridge but also lay a third track along a rail corridor in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, said members of the state’s congressional delegation this October in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Part of the money will also go toward improvements to the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station on the D.C. side of the Long Bridge. 

The additional tracks, officials have said, will also allow for more separation of freight and passenger rail service, such as Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express.

Those projects “are an essential means to providing extra passenger rail service in the commonwealth that is needed now more than ever,” wrote Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Reps. Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer McClellan in the October letter. “Rail ridership on Virginia’s state-supported Amtrak service is setting records every month.” 

Kaine said the $729 million will expand service not only in Virginia’s eastern corridor, but also other portions of the state that are served by east-west lines.