Arlington Green Party Statement on Suit to Stop I-66 Spot Improvement Project, September 26, 2009

My name is Audrey Clement. I’m Co-Chair of the Green Party of Virginia and a resident of Arlington County. I’m here to tell you that I recently filed suit in federal district court to stop the widening of I-66, a/k/a the I-66 Spot Improvement Project.

Although the Spot Improvement Project is billed as the solution to congestion on I-66, the I-66 corridor outside the Beltway—at least three lanes in either direction–provides proof that road widening doesn’t work, as the entire stretch from Tyson’s Corner to Manassas  is routinely backed up during rush hour.

No one knows this better than Arlington County Board member, Chris Zimmerman, who sits on a Transportation Planning Board (TPB) task force that’s studying real solutions to congestion on I-66. Zimmerman recommends express bus service, and the Arlington Green Party agrees that this is the most effective near term solution to congestion in corridor. Not only would it take cars off the interstate, it would reduce traffic on parallel arteries as well.

Unfortunately although it has sued to stop construction of I-395 HOT lanes, Arlington County Board has not sued to stop the widening of I-66 even though grounds for both suits are identical–VDOT’s use of so-called categorical exclusions to avoid assessing alternatives to road widening. Perhaps Arlington County Board agrees with critics that its decision to support a TPB deal that allows construction of Spot Improvement #1in return for a multi-modal corridor study compromised Arlington’s ability to successfully challenge the Spot Improvement Project in court.

If that’s the case then there probably won’t be any express bus service on I-66, because express bus service requires a continuous stretch of uncongested road, not the discontinuous merge lanes that the Spot Improvement Project will put in place. Under these circumstances only a citizen’s suit will stop the project from going forward, and I urge Arlington County residents to join me as plaintiffs in this suit. To do so, just send me an email at: 

Aclement65@hotmail.com

On Sept. 18, 2009, three Green Party members–John Reeder, Josh Ruebner and Audrey Clements, filed a lawsuit against the widening of I-66 highway in Arlington in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. The suit seeks a court order to halt the Va. Department of Transportation from beginning construction of a third west-bound lane on I-66 that would go for about 2 miles in Arlington from Fairfax Drive to Sycamore Street (East Falls Church).

The Greens contend that adding a third lane to I-66 in Arlington would violate the Coleman decision from the late 1970s that permitted the original construction of I-66 in Arlington subject to a number of environmental restrictions, including a ban on widening I-66 from two lanes wide in each direction. The suit also contends that VDOT violated federal law by not conducting an environmental assessment of such highway construction.

This case is a pro se case, and Greens are seeking more individual citizens to join the lawsuit. For more information, email John Reeder at info@reeder4arlington.org