Congressman Rob Wittman provided the keynote speech at the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Transportation Summit held at the University of Mary Washington this week.
The purpose of the summit was to discuss transportation issues in the Fredericksburg area – mainly congestion, access to commuter rail, and crumbling roads and bridges. A full recording of the event is available here.
“The First District of Virginia is home to some of the most unique transportation challenges in the country, including the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia, which has been identified as the worst traffic hot spot in the nation,” Wittman said. “As a commuter myself who travels along I-95 almost every day, I know firsthand the issues with congestion in the area. Utilizing the public-private-partnerships will improve the quality of life for First District residents, provide new opportunities for small businesses to grow and expand, and help attract new businesses to the area.”
Other speakers included Doug Allen, the CEO of the Virginia Railway Express, and Rob Cary, the Deputy Commission for the Virginia Department of Transportation. A main topic of conversation was the need to improve and expand the Long Bridge, which spans the Potomac River, connecting Virginia to D.C. This is one of Congressman Wittman’s top priorities to ease congestion in Northern Virginia and the greater capital region.
“Long Bridge is one of the primary rail bottlenecks on the east coast, operating at 98% capacity during peak hours. Amtrak and VRE, which help carry folks throughout Northern Virginia, rely on the services of Long Bridge” Wittman said. “Improving and expanding Long Bridge is a key component for easing congestion in our area as it would allow VRE and Amtrak to almost double their ridership. This would take more than five million cars off the road annually. Investing in this project is vital to our region’s future transportation network.”
During the event, Congressman Wittman was formally presented with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award in recognition of his pro-business record (photo attached). Congressman Wittman continues to be a leader on solving transportation issues in the First District and Virginia. He is committed to expanding capacity and operation of VRE, ensuring broadband access gets to unserved areas, deepening and widening the Port of Virginia, and investing in Regan National Airport and Dulles International Airport. This Congress, he has testified in front of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Appropriations Committee advocating on behalf of the transportation priorities of Virginia, as well as sent a letter to House leadership stressing the need for an innovative, sustainable approach to solving our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
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