Make your voice heard! Virginia wants to extend its private Southside toll lanes from Springfield, VA, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and up to Oxon Hill in Prince George’s County, Maryland. On October 15, the Capital region’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB) will vote on whether to include this Southside project in the region’s long-range plan.

Please click on this Sierra Club link and tell TPB voting members that you oppose Virginia’s Southside project.

Reasons for the TPB to Vote ‘NO’

What VDOT proposes -- to build its private toll lanes inside another state -- appears to be unprecedented in the U.S.
The Southside project would hobble for decades the ability of regional officials, especially MD governors, to make effective transportation decisions.
The project would almost certainly preclude extension of the Metro Blue Line over the Wilson Bridge.
The project would create a new bottleneck in Maryland where the toll lanes end at Oxon Hill. Toll lane bottlenecks lead to more toll lanes, which lead to more bottlenecks, and on and on.
The vast majority of the public would find the private, for-profit toll lanes unaffordable.
VDOT has not provided essential information about the project’s impact on traffic congestion, secondary roads, and the environment.
VDOT has not studied the many smart, effective alternatives to Southside toll lanes.
Opposition to VDOT’s plan is broad and intense, and includes Prince George’s County officials, Charles County officials, WMATA, the Mayor of Alexandria and others. The Maryland Department of Transportation has said it will support Prince George’s County in the upcoming TPB vote.

Thank you for submitting comments to TPB voting members! You can watch the October 15 vote here.