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A. Three transit investment alternatives were developed with the intent to improve transit service and connections, provide for more rider conveniences, and increase transit service capacity to meet the growing demand along the corridor.

• TSM* 1 - Enhanced Bus – Enhances Columbia Pike’s current transit service by increasing service to underserved areas, consolidates existing local bus stops, and slightly increases transit service.
• TSM* 2 - Articulated Bus – Enhances Columbia Pike’s current bus service and adds articulated buses and a transit center at Jefferson Street. It also introduces off-board fare collection, multi-door boarding and exiting, service changes and improved rider amenities.
• Streetcar Build Alternative – Builds a modern streetcar line, coupled with continued bus service between the Skyline area of Fairfax County and Pentagon City. This alternative is similar to the articulated bus alternative but would provide more capacity, attract more riders, promote transit-oriented development, and serve as a catalysis for economic and development growth.

*TSM = Transportation Systems Management

In addition to these three transit alternatives, consideration was given to a “No-Build Alternative.” The No-Build Alternative provides a way to evaluate and compare each of the proposed transit investment alternatives. The No-Build Alternative includes all related transportation improvements planned for the corridor and among other projects, implementation of Arlington County’s Super Stop Program, Arlington County’s Multimodal Project, and VDOT’s Washington Boulevard Bridge and Interchange project.

See Characteristics of Alternatives for more information on the project alternatives.

A. Both Arlington County and Fairfax County have included a “Columbia Pike Streetcar” project in their Capital Improvement Programs (CIP). The inclusion of the project in the CIP demonstrates a commitment by each county to provide the necessary local capital funding for the project. However, the implementation schedule and capital costs for the project included in the current CIPs are based on the earlier rounds of project planning. That work was completed prior to the current Draft AA/EA that was submitted to the Federal Transit Administration in January 2012.

*Depends on western terminus design option

A. The prior study, completed in 2007, was focused as a local project, not a federal project. Federal projects require thorough analysis of all line items in the capital cost estimates, including inflation, contingencies, and escalation to year of construction. The current cost estimates are more refined and include four additional years of inflation (2007-2011), projected inflation through 2015, contingency, fiscal prudence, and technical refinements. Additionally, the project team reviewed comparable costs of the Streetcar Build Alternative to similar projects across the United States. They invited many representatives from other streetcar teams across the country to review the costs and provide insights from their construction and operations experience.

Today’s estimate falls within the range of $214 - $231 million in FY 2011 dollars. It includes a contingency of 18%, which is nearly twice the contingency in the prior 2007 estimate. The construction cost estimate, which is escalated at 3% annually to the mid-year of construction, ranges from $242 million to $261 million.

The increase in estimated costs of building a five-mile streetcar line down Columbia Pike from the original, preliminary estimate are due to a variety of factors, including:

• Project refinements and enhancements (adds $20 million to the base cost)
  • A slightly longer mainline alignment
  • Increasing the vehicle fleet size from 11 streetcars to 13 streetcars
  • A larger maintenance facility
  • Clearer traction power and systems requirements
  • More accurate right-of-way needs
  • Structural improvements to the Four Mile Run Bridge
  • Regrading of Jefferson Street
• A larger contingency (adds $34 million to the base cost)
  • 18% contingency versus an 8% contingency in 2007
• Escalation of the contingent cost estimate (adds $29 million to the base cost)
  • 3% annually to the mid-year of construction, FY 2015

See Capital Cost Estimate for further information on capital costs and the previous estimate.
See Recent Streetcar and LRT Project Cost Experience to see how the cost estimate for the Columbia Pike Streetcar Build option compares to similar projects across the country.

A. Arlington County and Fairfax County plan to seek funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Starts/Small Starts program. The program requires a funding match from local governments. Both counties are evaluating local funding options.

Despite the increase in the capital cost estimate, the counties anticipate requesting funding under Small Starts (projects under $250 million). If the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative project receives a Small Starts grant from the FTA, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Arlington County, and Fairfax County will provide the remainder of the capital funding for the project.

Anticipated Funding Strategy: Capital Costs

• 30% of the project’s funding (up to $75 million) is expected to come from Small Starts funds.
• 14% of the project’s funding (up to $35 million) is expected to come from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• 56% of the project’s funding (up to $140 million) is expected to come from Arlington County and Fairfax County
  • 80% of the local funding would be provided by Arlington County
  • 20% of the local funding would be provided by Fairfax County.

A. No, transportation funds currently committed to projects such as the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative cannot be used to fund schools, police, fire, etc. The capital funds for the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative will be from a combination of federal, state, and local funding sources and can only be used for transportation purposes.

A. Columbia Pike is the most heavily utilized bus transit corridor in Virginia and currently carries 16,000 daily passengers. Continuing to add more buses to the corridor would lead to less efficient operations, with more bus bunching and resulting delays to passengers. The technical analysis of the current study indicates that introducing streetcars or articulated buses would increase the passenger capacity of the system without adding more transit vehicles. The introduction of new, larger transit vehicles would also be accompanied by low-platform, multiple-door boarding and streamlined fare payment. These potential changes would combine to greatly improve transit travel time and would contribute to Arlington County and Fairfax County goals to provide adequate capacity to meet long-term travel demand along the corridor.

A. Ongoing economic and budgetary concerns at the federal, state, and local levels have influenced the project planning for Columbia Pike. Like other important public infrastructure projects in the region and across the country, the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative project team is seeking to limit the cost and complexity of the project while maximizing benefits to the community. The project team has extended the schedule of the current study to address stakeholder concerns and complete technical analyses. The result of this work will be better information from which to make decisions.

Subject to the availability of funding, the current project timeline calls for:

• Preliminary engineering and project development from 2012 to 2014.
• Design and construction to begin in 2015.
• System testing and service to begin in 2017.

As the project advances through preliminary engineering, funding commitments will be defined in greater detail and reflect available funding levels from the different sources. These funding levels are likely to differ from those of today as the Commonwealth and the federal government refines their spending priorities. Prior to construction, funding agreements will be consummated.