[Archived] City of Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley Issues Statement on Selection of Woodrow Wilson Bridge Design


News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:	Wednesday, November 18, 1998
Contact:	Philip Sunderland, City Attorney, (703) 838-4433; Diane C. Cabe, City Manager's Office, (703)838-4300

City of Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley Issues Statement on Selection of Woodrow Wilson Bridge Design

Alexandria, Virginia - Earlier today, the selection of a design for the structure that will replace the aging Woodrow Wilson Bridge was announced. The City of Alexandria, through Mayor Kerry J. Donley, was a participant on the 15-member panel that reviewed alternative designs and made the final selection.

The City has opposed the 12-lane Woodrow Wilson replacement project that was approved in November 1997 by the Federal Highway Administration. The project will have substantial adverse impacts on the City, its residents and its unique historic, cultural and environmental resources. The City has initiated a lawsuit which challenges the FHWA decision to approve the project, and intends to pursue the suit to its conclusion.

The issues before the panel which announced its decision today did not involve the size, scope or impacts of the overall replacement project. Rather, they involved the design of the new crossing structure and, more specifically, its aesthetics and visual appearance. Because these issues are of vital importance to the City, regardless of the number of lanes on the ultimate replacement bridge, Mayor Donley accepted an invitation to sit on the crossing panel.

The design chosen today by the panel consists of two spans, each approximately 112-115 feet in width. The spans are separated in Jones Point Park by a distance of 15-20 feet, which increases to 48 feet over the Potomac River. Each span is supported by a number of V-shape piers that give the structure a light and open appearance. In contrast to the 22 sets of piers supporting the current bridge in Jones Point Park, the selected design locates only four sets of piers in the park.

Following the press conference announcing the selected design, Mayor Donley issued this statement:

"If constructed, the crossing structure selected today should present an open, light and visually pleasing appearance when viewed from Alexandria and other locations along the Virginia side of the Potomac.

"Although the City has serious concerns about the impacts of the approved replacement project on Jones Point Park, the selected design should make some improvements to the park. Because it locates relatively few piers within the park, the design will largely eliminate what amounts to a 'recreational dead zone' existing under the bridge today. In its place, the design should provide an increased amount of open and usable space under the bridge itself.

"The City remains adamantly opposed to the 12-lane project approved by the Federal Highway Administration because of the project's size and harmful impacts. However, regardless of the size of the project that is ultimately funded and constructed, I believe that the crossing design which was selected today represents an aesthetically sound design for the residents of Alexandria."

END