Long Bridge Project
The Long Bridge Project will increase rail capacity over the Potomac River and add a new bicycle-pedestrian bridge between Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC.
The Long Bridge is a CSXT owned two-track, century-old bridge that spans the Potomac River in Washington, DC. The Long Bridge Project will increase rail traffic capacity, creating a four-track corridor, and constructing approximately 1.8 miles of improvements including seven rail bridges and pedestrian bridges over land and the Potomac River and related railroad infrastructure between Arlington, VA, and Washington, DC.
The Long Bridge Project will construct a new, two-track railroad bridge next to the existing Long Bridge, creating a four-track corridor. A new bike-pedestrian bridge also will be constructed as part of the mitigation to National Park Service (NPS) parkland and will span the Potomac River and George Washington Memorial Parkway, connecting Long Bridge Park directly to East and West Potomac Parks.
Freight and passenger rail operators within the project corridor include Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and CSXT. Annually, up to 1.3 million Amtrak passengers and 4.5 million VRE commuters traverse the current Long Bridge, which operates at 98% capacity during peak hours. The project’s purpose is to create greater railroad capacity between Virginia and the District of Columbia while alleviating the rail congestion caused by the existing two-track Long Bridge.
1.8
Miles of Rail
7
New Bridges
6.5K
Feet of Rail Bridges
20K
Feet of Tracks
View from Long Bridge Park, Arlington
View from East Potomac Park, DC
View of Maine Avenue, DC
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s New?
Get news and updates about the Long Bridge Project, find out about upcoming events and public meetings, and download materials.
NEWS RELEASE - December 8, 2023 Grant will fund Long Bridge and Phase II Projects RICHMOND - The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) today announced it has been awarded a $729 million grant by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) through its Federal-State Partnership for Intercity [...]
NEWS RELEASE - December 6, 2023 Selections are a significant step in Transforming Rail in Virginia Initiative RICHMOND - The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) announced today that it has selected construction partners for two of its most significant Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) [...]
Project Schedule
Document Library
- Project Fact Sheet
- Combined Final Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation – 3MB (PDF)
- FEIS Basis of Design Report – 43MB (PDF)
- FEIS Operator Comments – 190KB (PDF)
- FEIS Operator Signoff Plans – 18MB (PDF)
- Final Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision – 3MB (PDF)
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Spring 2023 Public Meeting
Construction Packages
The Long Bridge Project will be delivered in two constructions packages: North Package, a Progressive Design-Build procurement that includes infrastructure improvements in Washington, DC and South Package, a Design-Build procurement, that will construct George Washington Parkway/Potomac River rail bridge and Potomac River bicycle-pedestrian bridge.
The North Package is one of the first significant construction contracts executed for the Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative. The South Package RFP will be released in February 2024.