Steve Burns

WMAL.com

WASHINGTON – (WMAL) Following a somewhat contentious process for the usually cordial Transportation Planning Board, members voted to include a potential upriver Potomac River bridge on its list of potentially transformational transportation projects to study.

The issue had been debated for weeks prior to the vote, with the most vocal opposition coming from Montgomery County. County Council President Roger Berliner again urged the board to “delete” the bridge from its list.

“Building an outer Potomac River bridge would help only a small subset of existing American Legion Bridge commuters, and it would remain a choke point,” Berliner told the TPB.

Various points were debated, including the use of Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve.

“Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve is a national model for open space and agricultural preservation,” said Caroline Taylor of the Montgomery County Countryside Alliance.

But the point was shot down by Susan Swift of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance.

“Just look at the map…there are many options that will not affect the Ag Reserve,” she said. “Not only do Montgomery County residents support a bridge, by 68 percent, it’s even more than Virginia and D.C. support a bridge.”

“I would say to you, Santa Claus polls well. Tinkerbell polls well,” Berliner responded. “I have something on the order of 200 emails that, just in the last week, show strong opposition to this.”

Others came out in favor of the bridge, including AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Tom Calcagni, who mentioned the national security risk of the Legion Bridge.

“In the event of a security threat, a new bridge would quickly be transformed from a matter of convenience to a matter of life or death,” Calcagni said. “How in this day and age can anyone truly oppose greater knowledge on any subject?”

There were some surprising dissensions, including Takoma Park’s representative, Councilmember Jarrett Smith, who voted in favor of studying a new bridge.

A resident of Loudoun County, Bill Fisher, spoke against a new bridge that would run to his county.

“(Loudoun) can’t afford it now and won’t be able to afford it a decade from now, and after the ravages of time including maintenance of infrastructure and inflation, it’s not going to be able to afford it decades from now,” Fisher said. “Including a bridge in your plan will only serve to perpetuate a daydream.”

Following an hour of debate among TPB members, the board voted 17-12 to keep the bridge on the list. TPB staff is set to study the ten ideas, including adding tolls to more area highways, expanding Metro, and adding more Bus Rapid Transit. Staff is scheduled to come back with a report by the end of the year.

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