19750617 r-75-15RESOLUTION NO. R-75-15
WHEREAS Interstate Route 66 borders the City of Fairfax,
Virginia and has two interchanges which provide access to and
from the City of Fairfax, Virginia; and
WHEREAS said highway, although originally designed to
connect to Route 7 and Washington, D. C. now ends at Interstate
Route 495; and
WHEREAS the usefulness of said highway, which has been
built at great expense, is greatly diminished by the failure of
said highway to connect to Route 7 and ultimately to Washington,
D. C.; and
WHEREAS many residents of the City of Fairfax, Virginia
work in and around Washington, D. C. and completion of said
highway would be of great benefit to them in commuting to their
places of employment; and
WHEREAS the METRO system was sold to the people of
the City of Fairfax on the basis that it would be a part of a
balanced transportation system, of which 1-66 would also be a
vital part, and
WHEREAS the construction of 1-66 was voluntarily
delayed for two years by the Virginia Department of Highways
(now VDH&T) to allow METRO time to coordinate its design of the
Vienna Line, which was to run in the median strip of 1-66, and
WHEREAS subsequent to the beginning of the pause in
construction of 1-66 by the Virginia Department of Highways,
a Federal law was passed requiring 'environmental impact studies
and this law was later adjudged by the Federal Government as
applicable to the 1-66 project even though the right-of-way
had already been acquired and design started prior to enactment
of the said law, and
RESOLUTION NO. R-75-15
WHEREAS Interstate Route 66 borders the City of Fairfax,
Virginia and has two interchanges which provide access to and
from the City of Fairfax, Virginia; and
WHEREAS said highway, although originally designed to
connect to Route 7 and Washington, D. C. now ends at Interstate
Route 495; and
WHEREAS the usefulness of said highway, which has been
built at great expense, is greatly diminished by the failure of
said highway to connect to Route 7 and ultimately to Washington,
D. C.; and
WHEREAS many residents of the City of Fairfax, Virginia
work in and around Washington, D. C. and completion of said
highway would be of great benefit to them in commuting to their
places of employment; and
WHEREAS the METRO system was sold to the people of
the City of Fairfax on the basis that it would be a part of a
balanced transportation system, of which 1-66 would also be a
vital part, and
WHEREAS the construction of 1-66 was voluntarily
delayed for two years by the Virginia Department of Highways
(now VDH&T) to allow METRO time to coordinate its design of the
Vienna Line, which was to run in the median strip of 1-66, and
WHEREAS subsequent to the beginning of the pause in
construction of 1-66 by the Virginia Department of Highways,
a Federal law was passed requiring environmental impact studies
and this law was later adjudged by the Federal Government as
applicable to the 1-66 project even though the right-of-way
had already been acquired and design started prior to enactment
of the said law, and
WHEREAS the law of the Commonwealth requires that
property acquired under the Right of Eminent Domain, which
becomes surplus to the purpose for which it was originally
acquired, be sold back to the original owner, and
R-75-15
·
WHEREAS should this property have to be acquired at
1976 prices, the cost to METRO for right-of-way would greatly
inflate the cost of and thus further increase the possibility
that the total 98-mile system will not be completed, and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia is aware of both the burdens and benefits of having an
interstate highway in close proximity to its borders; and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia believes that transportation to and from Washington, D. C
and other points in Northern Virginia is one of the primary
concerns of the people of Northern Virginia and vitally affects
the quality of life in Northern Virginia; and
WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia is concerned about all aspects of the environment and
quality of life in Northern Virginia and believes that on balance
all will be promoted and benefited by the completion of Interstate
Route 66 to Route 7 and ultimately to Washington, D. C. as a
component of a coordinated transportation system;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council
of the City of Fairfax does hereby petition the Secretary of
Transportation to approve the construction of 1-66 from 1-495
to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.
Passed: june 17, 1975