Testimony before the Loudoun County Planning Commission
May 12, 2009
Loudoun County Government Center
1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg

Tony Howard
President - Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce

Re: Loudoun County’s Countywide Transportation Plan

Good evening Madam Chairman and members of the Loudoun County Planning Commission. My name is Tony Howard and I am the President of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. On behalf of the more than 1,250 businesses and organizations that comprise the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce membership, it is my pleasure to address you this evening on the subject of Loudoun County’s Countywide Transportation Plan.

As the Commission considers the necessary revisions to the Countywide Transportation Plan, let me emphasize that Loudoun County’s and Northern Virginia’s continued economic prosperity demands a fully functioning transportation network that prioritizes the efficient movement of people and goods. Sadly, our region’s ongoing transportation crisis effectively diminishes the quality of life of every Loudoun citizen and threatens the economic competitiveness of every employer in our community.

That is why the Loudoun County Chamber strongly supports the creation of a balanced regional transportation network that emphasizes projects based solely on objective, performance-based criteria.

Given the County’s rapid economic and population growth that the county has experienced since the mid-1990s and what is projected over the next several decades, it is essential that Loudoun’s Countywide Transportation Plan identify and protect every available transportation option. It should pay particular attention to corridors that connect Loudoun and Washington Dulles International Airport to economic centers throughout Northern Virginia and neighboring states. Specific projects in the Draft CTP that the Chamber supports include:

• Upgrading Route 7 to a limited access roadway between Leesburg and Tysons Corner.
• Upgrading Routes 50, and 606 to form the Dulles Loop;
• Completing Route 50 and collector road and interchange improvements in the Dulles South area.
• Completing the Loudoun County and Tri-County Parkways on the master plan alignments.
• Adding a fourth lane in each direction on Route 28.
• Upgrading Route 659 and connecting the re-located Route 659/Northstar Blvd. with the extension of the Route 234 Bypass/Prince William County Parkway north of I-66;
• Accelerating Metrorail to Washington Dulles International Airport and eastern Loudoun County.

Again, the Chamber believes the ensuring a dynamic county and economy requires keeping all options on the table. The Chamber reiterates its support for:

• Restoring the Western Transportation Corridor to the County’s CTP.
• Re-locating U.S. Route 15 between Leesburg and Point of Rocks east of Lucketts and designating a new, location for a Point of Rocks Bridge replacement
• Re-locating Route 9 west of Hillsboro to a new corridor connection to Route 7
• Protecting rights of way for additional Potomac River crossings east of Leesburg to better connect Loudoun’s high tech/bio-tech community with Maryland’s.

As the CTP acknowledges, the Commonwealth is responsible for the County’s road network. If the County fails to protect alternatives, the Commonwealth ultimately will have no choice but to convert U.S. 15 to a Western Corridor-like facility and Route 9 to a four-lane divided facility with tremendous impact to properties along these routes.

Keeping Loudoun County prosperous, accessible and a good place to live require a transportation network that works in all areas of the County. I thank the Commission for this opportunity to express the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce’s position on this important business and quality of life issue.