One Arlington leader wants localities to be more aggressive in seeking transportation and transit funding along the I-66 corridor.
County Board member Takis Karantonis lamented that nearly $40 million in available funding will be left on the table in the latest round of “I-66 Commuter Choice” grants.
An estimated $100 million in funding will be available for the fiscal 2027-28 grant cycle, but local governments and transit agencies sought only $69.8 million. When staff eliminated two projects for not meeting program requirements, only $60.5 million in requests remained active, leaving $39.5 million untapped.
“This is significant money, and it can do a lot of good,” Karantonis said at the March 5 meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC).
Karantonis serves on the NVTC board of directors along with County Board members Maureen Coffey and Matt de Ferranti.
Grant funding comes from revenue generated by tolling on I-66 inside the Beltway. With the end of the pandemic and a renewed emphasis on in-person work, “I-66 is very prolific in bringing funds to the table,” Karantonis said.
NVTC is expected to approve all eligible projects for funding in June. The remaining funds will carry over to the next grant cycle.
Arlington submitted two requests, which will probably receive funding:
- $20 million in additional funding for the new west entrance to the Ballston-MU Metro station, located at the intersection of N. Fairfax Drive and N. Vermont Street
- $475,000 to support enhanced service on Arlington Transit (ART) Route 55, which connects the Rosslyn and East Falls Church Metro stations via Langston Blvd
When NVTC and Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission staff scored the projects, the Metro entrance ranked sixth and the enhancement of ART service ranked 11th out of 14.
The county requests were scored at 78 and 51, respectively, on a 0-to-100 scorecard. Among all 14 projects, scores ranged from a high of 88 to a low of 45.
The public comment period is now open on the draft package of funding proposals. It runs through April 3.
