American Legion Bridge
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| How do you feel about the prospect of the ALB carrying a LR line over its span? |
Anonymous
Sorry, can you spell out the acronyms? And I live in McLean |
Anonymous
| light rail |
Anonymous
Thanks. I am correct in that the bridge is Maryland's problem, right? And that the current proposal is to widen it to 16 lanes 8/8? I've never heard of a light rail proposal in the 30 years of living in McLean. What exactly is the proposal. Where does it start and where does it go? Who owns it? VDOT has made an absolute hash on the Virgina side but at least is starting to take down bridges and widen 495. |
Anonymous
| Should have built a tunnel |
Anonymous
Under the Potomac River? uh ok You do know that's all solid rock? |
Anonymous
I mean hows that difficult to break through, just use dynamite and a tunnel boring machine. |
Anonymous
|
I would not expect a light rail line without anything to connect on either end of the bridge. The "half a loaf" proposal would include a dedicated rapid bus lane that could be converted to light rail in future decades. That might be enough to satisfy some folks.
And a bike lane. And a pony. I've always wanted a pony. A tunnel? A 16-lane tunnel would never pass environmental review, would take 50 years and cost many billions. I don't see it. |
Anonymous
|
Whether it is light rail or bus rapid transit, the key questions are who pays for the capex, who pays for the open, where does it start, where it go and who is supposed to want to ride it?
Sounds like a “HOT” lane under a different name to deny Hogan a win. Look at how much stupid partisan politics are going to cost the county and state. They’ve already delayed the approval and I don’t see anyone who likes to complain about environmental review see it being weaponized by DOT. This is the crap why Maryland continues to fall behind. |
Anonymous
| Great idea, but good effing luck bringing the Purple Line west of downtown to the river. |
Anonymous
| ^^^ downtown Bethesda, that is |
Anonymous
Not OP but ALB is the American Legion Bridge (the Cabin John bridge for Gen X and older) and LR is light rail. |
Anonymous
|
The Fed gov't would pay for most of the building costs (but not maintenance costs) since it's an interstate highway improvement that benefits more than one state, as is tyipcal for such projects.
The bike path thing was slipped in there to improve the chance of approval. As for LR, it would need to connect to Tysons Silver Line, and be an extension of the Purple Line, but that wil be tough as the Purple Line extension past Bethesda would use the Capital Crescent Trail (formerly a rail line) and people would go nuts over that. |
Anonymous
How do you think the metro gets from Rosslyn to Foggy Bottom? |
Anonymous
Right but that is swampland and easy to burrow. You know that. And it's a short ride. Building a tunnel under the Potomac river in all that rock and for the length of the ALB and beyond? Impossible. and where would it land in VA? There's no room there. Already VDOT is buying up whatever land it needs to widen 495 on the VA side. Also there's massive work going on on the George Washinton Parkway. I can't imagine a tunnel underneath nor can I imagine where it would start and stop |