[Archived] City of Alexandria Awarded $75 Million for Duke Street Transitway Project

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2020

The City of Alexandria will receive $75 million in funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for construction of the first phase of the Duke Street Transitway project in 2025. Once completed, the Duke Street Transitway will add transportation capacity and infrastructure improvements to the segment of Duke Street between the King Street-Old Town Metro Station and the former Landmark Mall site. This project was identified as one of three high-capacity transit corridors in the 2008 Transportation Master Plan, along with the Route 1 Metroway and the West End Transitway.  

“NVTA’s investment in the Duke Street Transitway is a tremendous opportunity to transform that corridor and support the City’s goal of providing frequent, reliable transit service in high-density areas of Alexandria, both now and in the future,” said Mayor Justin Wilson, a member of the Authority.

The City previously received $12 million from NVTA for planning and design of this corridor, which is expected to begin this fall. While the City approved concept plans during the 2012 Feasibility Study, staff will be working with the community to re-envision Duke Street and determine how enhanced transit can be accommodated along this corridor. The first phase of this project will include funding for additional buses, shelters and amenities, and some roadway design improvements. The corridor design will be determined in partnership with the community over the next year.  

The Duke Street Transitway project will be closely coordinated with a number of other initiatives that are intended to more efficiently move people along Duke Street and improve congestion.  As part of the Smart Mobility Program, the City is currently installing additional Transit and Emergency Vehicle Signal Priority along this corridor. Duke Street was also prioritized as one of the first two corridors to receive signal upgrades through the Adaptive Traffic Signal Control project, which will allow the network of signals to better detect vehicles and automatically adjust their timing to improve traffic flow. Additionally, the City was awarded funding to improve safety and traffic congestion at the high-crash intersection of Duke Street and West Taylor Run Parkway. Because Duke Street was identified as a high-crash corridor through the Vision Zero Action Plan, staff is also working to provide safety upgrades along this corridor.

The regional revenues awarded to the City for the Duke Street Transitway project are part of NVTA’s Six Year Program, which provides funding for regional projects from 2020-2025. The plan was approved on July 9 and will invest $539 million in transportation projects across Northern Virginia, benefiting the region at large.

Visit the project webpage for more information about the Duke Street Transitway. To learn more about regional transportation projects funded through NVTA’s Six Year Program process, visit thenovaauthority.org.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact Craig Fifer, Director of Communications and Public Information, at craig.fifer@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3965.