Area motorists overwhelmingly support a new Potomac River bridge, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Transportation Poll 2001. More than eight in ten drivers (84%)—in both Virginia and Maryland—support construction of  a new river crossing or “Techway”, as it is commonly called, connecting the Dulles Airport area with the I-270 corridor. The crossing would provide tens of thousands of suburb-to-suburb travelers with an alternative to being forced onto the Beltway just to cross the Potomac River.

 “Elected officials who oppose the construction of a new Potomac River crossing are clearly out-of-touch with their constituents on this issue,” said Lon Anderson, Director of Public Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  In fact, the poll shows that support for the proposed “Techway” has grown even stronger during the last year.

 “Too many motorists waste too many hours of their lives making that big horseshoe commute merely to cross the Potomac,” Anderson noted.  “A few years ago, few politicians dared to publicly discuss the Techway.  But the continued growth and prosperity along the Dulles Toll Road and I-270 corridors along with some of the nation’s worst gridlock, have produced a groundswell of public support for this idea.”

 Region-wide support for the Techway has increased during the last year—from 75% support in 2000 to 84% support in 2001. “When we asked this question in our Transportation Poll 2000, we saw a sizeable percentage of drivers (18%) that had no opinion on the issue. This year, just 4% had no opinion,” said Anderson. “Most of the people that didn’t know how they felt about the Techway last year are now in favor of it.”

 Fairfax and Loudoun County drivers overwhelmingly support the Techway—by a 12-1 margin (87% vs. 7%). Montgomery County drivers also voiced tremendous support for the bridge—by a 4-1 margin (80% vs. 18%).

 “Clearly, people on both sides of the Potomac River overwhelmingly want this crossing,” said Anderson. “In the face of this strong support, though, we have seen both the Montgomery County Council and Planning Board recently take steps to block this bridge.

 “Just last fall,” Anderson continued, “the Montgomery County Council voted 9-0 – that’s unanimous—to block a Council of Governments attempt to study such a facility.  And just last week the Montgomery County Planning Board agreed to go forward with language in its Potomac Master Plan that would block a river crossing.  With 80% support in the County it will be interesting to see how long their ‘head-in-the sand’ strategy will work.

 “In spite of the County’s opposition, there are at least three different studies underway that will be looking at a new river crossing,” Anderson noted. “Just a few months ago, Northern Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf was able to get $2 million included in the federal budget for a US DOT study of such a facility. 

 “The Techway proposal now has citizen and business groups on both sides of the river working actively to advance this project. These poll findings demonstrate very strong and growing support for a new river crossing for two years running.  It is interesting to note the intensity:  nearly two-thirds (64%) in this year’s poll strongly supported the project. The public fervor is there, the question is where is the local political leadership?” asked the AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman.  

The AAA Mid-Atlantic Transportation Poll 2001 was a professional survey of 451 motorists from across the region performed by R/S/M, Inc., a national polling firm that has done survey research for organizations such as the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. This telephone poll was not limited to AAA members, but did include some.

 Note to Editors: A copy of the relevant question and responses, broken down by jurisdiction is attached. The poll results can also be found on AAA Mid-Atlantic’s web site at www.aaamidatlantic.com. Click on the Washington, D.C. area.

 AAA MID-ATLANTIC’S 2001 TRANSPORTATION POLL

BUILDING ANOTHER POTOMAC RIVER CROSSING 

Do you favor or oppose construction of a “High Techway” to connect the Dulles Airport area with I-270?

                               Metro Area     Montgomery County       Northern Virginia      

Strongly favor                             64%                        59%                            67%

Somewhat favor                        20                            22                                19

Somewhat oppose                     7                            12                                  3

Strongly oppose                          5                              6                                  4       

Don’t Know/Refused                   4                              2                                  6