The federal government will fund Virginia toll lanes, but not bike paths to Metro stations, in the most recent round of federal transportation grants.
A public-private partnership group building high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstate 95 will get $20 million in federal funding, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The $20 million will help Fluor-Transurban, the private partner constructing the lanes, leverage more federal loans -- up to $200 million toward the $950 million project, according to Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton.
"It's critical to get [the grant]," Connaughton said. "This is a major step forward."
The Department of Transportation received 828 applications worth $14.1 billion and chose 46 projects totaling $511 million.
Among those rejected was a request from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for $29 million for pedestrian- and bicycle-related upgrades around Metro stations, including a pedestrian tunnel under Georgia Avenue at the Forest Glen Metro.
"Obviously we would have liked to have gotten funded, but we knew that our chances weren't all that good because we got a grant before," COG Transportation Planning Director Ron Kirby said.
COG will consider reapplying for the funding next year, he said.
The grant-winning HOT lanes would stretch between Edsall Road in Fairfax County to Garrisonville Road in Stafford County and, similar to those being built on the Capital Beltway/Interstate 495, would be restricted to vehicles with multiple passengers who would travel for free or motorists willing to pay tolls to use the less congested lanes.
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Officials expect the lanes to be built by summer of 2015.
The state recently agreed to a tentative deal in which Fluor-Transurban would pay $843 million of the cost of the HOT lanes construction, and Virginia would pay $97 million, plus $200 million for bus service and parking along the corridor. The company would then split revenues from the toll lanes for 73 years with the state, which will own the lanes.
The money announced Thursday was part of the TIGER program, which gave out grants for the first time in 2009 as part of President Obama's stimulus package.
