Despite receiving most of what it wanted, Arlington came up short in winning regional funding for some key transportation projects.
Three of the county’s 13 submissions for the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s FY2026-31 Six-Year Program failed to be funded. A final vote was taken at the authority’s July 9 board meeting.
The county will receive $83 million compared to $116 million requested.
“This program represents a significant investment in Northern Virginia’s transportation future,” NVTA CEO Monica Backmon said in a press release. “By funding projects across all modes of travel, we are advancing solutions that reduce congestion and support the region’s continued growth and economic competitiveness.”
The county’s proposals that were not funded were:
- $11.7 million to support a $67 million access upgrade to the Court House Metro station
- $8.5 million for intersection safety on S. George Mason Drive and S. Four Mile Run Drive
- $5 million for the Arlington Memorial Trail from Memorial Avenue to Columbia Pike
In addition, Arlington’s request to fully fund $36 million in multimodal improvements for S. George Mason Drive from Columbia Pike to S. Dinwiddie Street was shaved to $28.7 million.
Despite those disappointments, the county government did win full funding for nine requests, ranging from $15 million for the Arlington Blvd Trail from N. Granada Street to N. Jackson Street to $10 million for intersection improvements at N. Glebe Road and Interstate 66.
A total of $10 million was allocated for S. Glebe Road and W. Glebe Road intersection improvements, as was $3 million for the intersection of S. Glebe Road and 7th Street S. A total of $5 million will be provided for improvements to the intersection of N. Glebe at N. Quincy Street/Henderson Road.
A total of $2 million was approved to support multimodal improvements on S. Eads Street from 15th Street S. to 23rd Street S. About $4.6 million was approved in support of the county’s performance parking initiative.
A complete list of approved projects is as follows:
- Next Generation bus-rider information, $2.5 million
- Custis Trail widening and modernization, $4.6 million
- Custis Trail widening and modernization, $2.4 million
- S. Glebe Road and W. Glebe Road intersection improvements, $10 million
- S. Glebe Road and 7th Street S. intersection improvements, $3 million
- Arlington Blvd. Trail, north side from N. Granada Street to N. Jackson Street, $15 million
- N. Glebe Road and N. Quincy Street/Henderson Road intersection improvements, $5 million
- N. Glebe Road at I-66 westbound off-ramp intersection improvements, $10 million
- S. Eads Street multimodal improvements, 15th Street S. to 23rd Street S., $2 million
- S. George Mason Drive multimodal improvements, Columbia Pike to S. Dinwiddie Street, $28.7 million
The authority’s board of directors approved the funding as part of a $776 million fiscal year 2026-31 package of projects for localities across the region. All told, $1.26 billion was requested by participating localities.
In addition to Arlington’s submissions, funding requests were made by Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Manassas, and the town of Herndon.
A total of 27 projects were submitted; 21 were approved unanimously and without comment by the NVTA board at the July 9 meeting.
Arlington had the most funding requests fully or partially approved, at 10, while Prince William County received the most funding at $295 million.
Fairfax County submitted just a single request, seeking $463 million in support of the nearly billion-dollar Route 1 bus rapid transit network in the southeastern part of the county. Only $116.3 million of the request was funded.
The next round of funding through the Six-Year Plan is expected to be approved in mid-2028. The county government can seek funding from alternate sources in the interim.
