Welcome to the homepage for the Crystal City/Potomac Yard Transit Improvements Implementation Project.

The purpose of the Crystal City/Potomac Yard Corridor Transit Improvements Project is to provide high-capacity and high-quality bus transit services in the five-mile corridor between the Pentagon and Pentagon City in Arlington County and the Braddock Road Metrorail Station in the City of Alexandria. The project is jointly sponsored by Arlington County and the City of Alexandria in cooperation with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).

The project came about in response to rapid development and redevelopment occurring in the corridor. New commercial and residential buildings are going up in Crystal City and Pentagon City with further growth planned for the immediate and long-term future. Build-out of Potomac Yard over the next 10 years will result in a substantial increase in new retail, office, hotel, and residential space. The new transit system will add transportation capacity along the corridor and provide better connections to Metrorail and other activity centers in the area.

The transit improvements are being phased in to accommodate new growth being planned in each jurisdiction; the rate of implementation varies with each jurisdiction's development plans.

During 2006, the project team, in consultation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), conducted an environmental review of the planned transit improvements to meet National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal and state requirements. In January 2007, the project team completed the environmental review and public involvement process, and prepared documentation in support of a documented Categorical Exclusion (CE). In April 2007, the FTA determined that the proposed improvements for the initial phase of the project in Crystal City and Potomac Yard in Arlington meet the criteria and standards for a CE. As the project progresses, additional approvals will be sought to implement subsequent phases.

For more information about this transit project, please see the other pages of the website. The overview page explains the environmental study process and how the service improvements will be phased in over the coming years, the maps page shows the project location and alignment, and the publications page has project documents from the environmental review and previous studies for downloading.