Proposed: Connecting National Landing
The Virginia Department of Transportation is seeking federal grant funding of $97 million to complete the $372 million financing plan for the Connecting National Landing project. These transportation improvements will help advance the integrated transportation and land use plan developed by Arlington County in 2010 – the Crystal City Sector Plan, by providing more travel choices for the community.
The award-winning Crystal City Sector Plan laid out a 40-year community-based vision to transform Crystal City into a more inviting, lively, and walkable community with more ground-floor retail, better quality office space, and more housing options.
The Plan was adopted following an extensive community-based planning effort that included more than 90 public meetings over four years. It encourages new development by providing density and other incentives, improving streets, sidewalks, and other public infrastructure, upgrading open spaces, and increasing transit options.
One of the key improvements identified to realize the community vision was the transformation of Route 1 into an urban boulevard linking Crystal City’s east and west neighborhoods. Route 1 between 12th Street S and 20th Street S in the Crystal City area of Arlington County is currently an elevated freeway that forms a barrier between destinations to the east and west. While Crystal City and Pentagon City are evolving from auto-centric places to higher-density, urban places that people can access by a variety of modes—walking, biking, transit, or driving—many stakeholders now desire to convert this half-mile long segment of urban freeway to embrace Route 1 as a city street with storefronts and building entrances. This urban boulevard will knit the urban fabric of Crystal City as part of the larger National Landing area.
A shift in travel behavior is critical to the success of the Route 1 urban boulevard. Connecting National Landing also includes improvements to the Crystal City Metro station and implementation of a robust Travel Demand Management (TDM) plan that is expected to reduce peak period single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips by 30%. Connecting National Landing improvements balance vehicle throughput and corridor levels of service with those of environmental sustainability, walkability, and redevelopment potential while considering a safe environment for all users.
The links below provide more information regarding the plans for this portion of the Rt. 1 corridor and the National Landing area.