Related Item • Text of council resolution to accept settlement

By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 10, 1999; Page B4

The Alexandria City Council agreed last night to drop its legal fight against construction of a new Woodrow Wilson Bridge in exchange for $60 million worth of concessions from the federal government and a span that would open with 10 lanes instead of 12.

The possibility of a 12-lane bridge still exists, however, if the Virginia and Maryland highways that feed into the bridge are expanded to include car-pool lanes. Two lanes for high occupancy vehicles would then be added to the bridge, officials said.

The council agreed on a 4 to 3 vote to withdraw from the legal challenge to the new bridge and accept a deal worked out with federal and state officials that Mayor Kerry J. Donley (D) praised as benefiting the city.

Last year, the city joined a lawsuit filed by a local citizens group aimed at stopping construction of a new 12-lane span to replace the crumbling, six-lane, 37-year-old Wilson Bridge, which carries the Capital Beltway between Alexandria and Prince George's County.

Concerned that the project would overwhelm Old Town and nearby neighborhoods with traffic, the city threatened to file a separate lawsuit late last year.

Opponents of the 12-lane span, led by the Coalition for a Sensible Bridge, the group that sued last year, said last night's council decision will not deter it from continuing its lawsuit.

"Our issues in the lawsuit are as valid as ever," said Ron Ullrich, the group's co-chairman. "The arguments – historical preservation, environmental, clean air – stand on their merits, and we will continue to pursue them."

A hearing in that suit is scheduled in federal court in the District next month. The coalition is fighting to ensure that the bridge will never accommodate more than 10 lanes.

Eugene A. Conti, assistant secretary for transportation policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation, said he was "delighted" that Alexandria officials were able to work with the state, the Federal Highway Administration and the DOT "to resolve the issues at the heart of this lawsuit and to address the transportation needs of the metropolitan community."

U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce officials, who had accused the city of obstructing regional transportation interests, praised the vote to drop the litigation. "It's time for Alexandria to step up to the plate and say we're going to cooperate," said Moran, a former mayor of the city.

In addition to limiting the bridge to 10 lanes initially, the agreement calls for adding improvements to Jones Point Park on the Alexandria waterfront, ensures access from the bridge to the Eisenhower Valley area and addresses concerns about traffic in residential areas in Old Town. DOT officials also agreed to support federal legislation providing for study of another bridge crossing farther south along the Potomac River, possibly to connect Route 234 in Prince William County with Routes 210 and 301 in Charles County.

The DOT also agreed that if rail transit is ever added to the Wilson Bridge, the tracks would run along any future HOV lanes, precluding the possibility that the bridge would expand to 14 lanes.

Voting for the settlement last night were Donley, Vice Mayor William D. Euille and members David G. Speck and Lois Walker, all Democrats. Voting against it were Redella S. "Del" Pepper (D), Lonnie C. Rich (D) and William C. Cleveland (R).