Crystal City to Reagan National Airport Multimodal Connection (CC2DCA)

This project will provide a context-sensitive multimodal connection between Crystal City and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) for use by people walking, biking, and using micromobility devices. The project began in May of 2021 with an environmental review required by the federal NEPA review process.

The CC2DCA connection will provide residents, visitors, and business travelers of all ages and abilities with a safe and convenient way to reach the airport from Crystal City. Not only will the project provide pedestrian and bicycle access to a national air travel hub, it will also create and enhance multimodal connections among the airport, the relocated Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail station, and the multi-use Mount Vernon Trail.


Location

In May 2023, the Arlington County Board endorsed the location of the Preferred Alternative for the CC2DCA Multimodal Connection. The Preferred Alternative would connect to the east side of the south entrance of the future VRE Crystal City Station located at 2011 Crystal Dr. and span the rail corridor perpendicularly before crossing the George Washington Memorial Parkway at a slight angle. A specific alignment across DCA will be defined in the fall of 2024.

CC2DCA_Preferred_Alt - med.jpg


Status

In Design

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) efforts for the CC2DCA connection were finalized on July 24, 2024, when the Federal Highway Administration issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the project. Additional information related to the project's NEPA efforts can be found below.


Public Process

Public involvement played a pivotal role in the NEPA process and there will be opportunities to engage with the project throughout its development. The County has developed a comprehensive public participation plan in accordance with NEPA requirements and consistent with the County’s Six Step Public Engagement Guide for Capital Projects.

Engagement Opportunities

Summer 2021

July 2021 Community Meeting

A virtual community meeting was held on July 15, 2021, to present the study to the public and solicit initial comments on the potential CC2DCA connection.

Online questionnaire

An online form was available from July 15 to Aug. 15, 2021, for providing input to help define the project’s purpose and need.

Winter 2021

In November 2021, the project team kicked off the 2nd public engagement checkpoint for the CC2DCA Study, covering the process from Purpose & Need to preliminary feasibility for project corridors and initial concept designs. This public engagement window was open from November 29, 2021 to January 9, 2022.

Online Feedback

The online feedback form guided participants through a high-level overview of the study's progress to date, and asked for your feedback along the way. Here's a summary what we heard in the feedback form:

Virtual Question & Answer Session

The project team hosted a virtual Question & Answer session on December 7, 2021 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. The project team answered questions about the study's progress, and about the engagement materials that are part of this public comment period.

Key Engagement Resources

Pre-Recorded Presentation

The project team prepared a set of pre-recorded presentations to update you on our progress and walk you through the process so far. You can watch the entire presentation (approximately 30min) or watch segments covering each part of the engagement. These videos formed the basis for this public engagement opportunity.

Presentation Video

Segments

Corridor Factsheets
Learn more about each of the 14 corridors analyzed and screened for the study in this set of 1-page factsheets.

Corridor Video

Concepts Factsheets
Learn more about each of the initial concepts for the multi-modal connection analyzed and screened for the study in this set of 1-page factsheets

Concepts Video

Fall 2022

In October 2022, the project team kicked off the third public engagement opportunity for the CC2DCA Study, covering the process from initial concept designs to a recommended preferred alternative. This public engagement window was open Oct. 4, 2022 to Nov. 6, 2022.

Online Feedback Summary
Virtual Question & Answer Session

The project team hosted a virtual public meeting for the recommended preferred alternative on Oct. 25, 2022 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The project team answered questions about the study's progress, and about the engagement materials that are part of this public comment period.

Meeting Transcripts

Pre-Recorded Meeting Materials

Segments

Alternatives Brochure

 

 

About the Project

In 2010, Arlington County adopted the Crystal City Multimodal Transportation Study. The study made transportation improvement recommendations for the Crystal City area including the construction of a pedestrian and bicycle connection to the airport.

The Crystal City Business Improvement District (now known as the National Landing BID) initiated a feasibility assessment in 2017 that looked at how to connect Crystal City and its myriad transportation options to the airport. The study evaluated various alignment and facility types to serve existing development and planned growth in Crystal City.

During development of its FY 2019-2028 Capital Improvement Plan, the County created a new project in the Crystal City, Pentagon City, Potomac Yard Streets Program to continue alternatives analysis and preliminary planning for a connection between Crystal City and DCA. The project had limited funding due to budget constraints.

In late 2018, with the announcement of an agreement to bring Amazon’s HQ2 to Crystal City, the Commonwealth of Virginia identified a CC2DCA connection as one of five transportation projects to be fully or partially funded by the Commonwealth.

VDOT added the project to its Six-Year Improvement Program in 2019. This included an allocation of $9.5 million in federal funding for project planning, NEPA documentation and preliminary engineering.

At its December 2019 meeting, the County Board approved an agreement with VDOT to allow the County to administer the project’s planning, environmental review and preliminary engineering phases.

On June 30, 2020, the County advertised a request for proposals to select a consultant to complete the project’s environmental documentation and conceptual design. The County Board approved a professional services contract at its March 20, 2021, meeting. 

Work on the NEPA phase began in May 2021. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) served as the lead agency for the environmental review, while VDOT served as the joint lead agency for NEPA efforts. The NEPA process included robust engagement to develop the project's purpose and need, evaluate various alternatives and determine a preferred alignment. This process culminated in the issuance of an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Public Review in the fall of 2023.

Following the public review of the EA and associated documents, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Arlington County, VDOT, the National Park Service (NPS), and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources executed a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA), which defined measures to be taken during the later phases of the project to minimize and mitigate adverse effects on the George Washington Memorial Parkway (Parkway) as a historic resource. Additionally, to address impacts of CC2DCA on the Parkway as a park, Arlington County entered into a separate Mitigation Agreement (MA) with NPS. The Arlington County Board approved both agreements on December 16, 2023.

On July 24, 2024, (FHWA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Crystal City to Ronald Reagan National Airport Multimodal Connection (CC2DCA). The FONSI was based on FHWA’s evaluation of the project’s Environmental Assessment and supporting documents. FHWA’s evaluation determined the documents adequately and accurately discuss the purpose and need, alternatives, environmental impacts, and appropriate mitigation measures of the proposed project. As a result, FHWA determined the project will have no significant impact on the human environment. The issuance of this determination allowed CC2DCA to continue to progress engineering and design efforts.

Currently engineering and design efforts are ongoing and focusing on determining the alignment of the connection within DCA, which was not specifically defined during the environmental review process. Survey work and field exploration within the project limits was completed in the Summer of 2024.


Funding

The project is currently funded by a combination of federal, state, regional funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, and local funding, in the amount of $58.8 million.