Virginia is looking for builders for the $2.3 billion Long Bridge project, which is still on track for a 2030 opening.
, it could be delayed if the rail authority doesn’t secure the remaining funding to cover the entire cost over the next year. The authority is seeking federal grants to help close a $712 million funding gap for its overall $7.2 billion rail program, said Stadtler, of which $389 million is for the new Long Bridge. He attributed the project’s cost overruns to inflation, noting that the plan was fully funded when the state embarked on the rail program three years ago.
“A lot of those projects were just in the early stages of design, and so as we’ve moved into this with better estimates, obviously inflation has been a big part,” he said. “We found that all of the funding that we had is not going to be sufficient to cover all of our projects.”He said if no funding is secured in the next year to fill the gap, the state would need to decide whether to delay other rail projects to fully finance Long Bridge.
While the funding gap mostly affects funding several years out, officials say they are confident in the planned 2030 opening. In the meantime, demand for intercity passenger service in Virginia continues to set records. Ridership on Amtrak’s state-supported routes was close to 90,000 in January, a nearly 30 percent increase over the same month in 2020, before the pandemic.
The project is backed by the District, Amtrak, VRE and CSX, which owns the existing bridge. It comes alongside other planned improvements, including construction of a fourth track south of Washington; the acquisition of hundreds of miles of track and right of way elsewhere in Virginia; and other improvements in the I-95 corridor and across the state. When the new bridge is complete, the state expects hourly Amtrak trains during peak hours between Washington and Richmond.
“The new Long Bridge represents a unique opportunity to better connect the super region,” said Hollinger, calling it of “national significance” because the bridge connects the Southern and Northeastern U.S.
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