Provided by Northern Virginia Transportation Authority
On Thursday, July 13, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), the City of Manassas Park, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and other regional partners gathered to mark the start of construction on the Manassas Park VRE Station Parking Expansion Project.
This project is crucial for meeting the needs of a diverse, growing region. The benefits from additional 540 parking spaces this project brings to the Manassas Park Station include:
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- Congestion reduction: With NVTA’s focus on reducing congestion, this expansion accommodates a growing population and the need for diverse travel options, giving commuters accessible options to park their single occupancy vehicles and use VRE, versus commuting on Route 28, I-66 and other routes.
- Accessibility to multimodal and sustainable transportation options: Creating accessible options encourages multimodal commuting and allows commuters to use other sustainable modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling, or using public transit, to reach their final destinations.
The total cost for the Park Central VRE Garage project is approximately $34.6 million. Without key state and regional funding partners, this project would not be possible. Original support for the study and preliminary design of the garage in the amount of $2.5 million came from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) through its FY2015-2016 and FY2017 programs, with additional assistance from the City of Manassas Park. With NVTA’s support, VRE secured $23.5 million of funding for construction from the I-66 Outside the Beltway Concession Fee program as part of VRE’s broader Manassas Line Capacity Expansion program.
The City then secured funding through the I-66 Commuter Choice Program of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission in the amount of $2.5 million. Finally, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation recently awarded the project $6.1 million through its Major Capital Assistance grant program.
