Transportation

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today released its Track Integrity Investigation on the WMATA Metrorail system. The investigation, which addresses inspections from FTA’s Spring 2016 safety blitz and mostly predates WMATA’s SafeTrack plan, found major, longstanding deficiencies in the way that WMATA conducts rail inspections and protocol used to carry out routine repairs and track… Read more »

Congressional representatives from Virginia and the District of Columbia today announced that the National Park Service (NPS), jointly with the District Department of Transportation, has been awarded a $90 million FASTLANE Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for repairs to Arlington Memorial Bridge, which carries 68,000 vehicles daily. Rep. Don Beyer, Sens. Mark R. Warner and… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer is convening a community meeting with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Metro Washington Aviation Administration, and community leaders. The announcement comes after recent changes to departure procedures for aircraft taking off to the south of the airport.… Read more »

June 9, 2016 (Washington, DC) – Members of the National Capital Region House delegation today wrote Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta expressing concern over the din from military helicopters in their communities. The group offered their assistance in helping Department of Defense (DOD) and FAA complete a report… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today after investigators presented their findings on the 2015 smoke incident at L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board. The investigator’s findings were critical of the coordinated emergency response. They also highlighted persistent safety deficiencies at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit… Read more »

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx today announced three new federal appointees to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors, exercising his newly-granted authority under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Under the FAST Act, Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and the federal government may appoint four members each to the 16 member… Read more »

Congressional representatives from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia wrote Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx to immediately endorse the National Park Service’s (NPS) FASTLANE Grant application, following news that the District of Columbia agreed to join as a local sponsor. The FASTLANE grant program requires federal land management agencies to apply jointly with a… Read more »

Congressman Don Beyer released the following statement after the announcement this afternoon that the Washington Metropolitan Area Metro Authority (WMATA) will suspend Metrorail service for 29 hours beginning at midnight tonight: Our office has been in contact with the Office of Personnel Management.  We have urged them to allow unscheduled leave for federal employees, and I urge… Read more »

The National Park Service (NPS) today announced that Arlington Memorial Bridge will need to close by 2021 absent funding for a full rehabilitation. The bridge has been undergoing emergency repairs since last year. Northern Virginia Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, and Barbara Comstock, along with Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, reacted to the news with urgent calls to fund repairs,… Read more »

Today Congressman Don Beyer offered two amendments in the Science, Space, and Technology Committee that would have compelled the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to study the impact of military helicopter noise on the National Capital Region and to evaluate FAA-operated flight paths over the region.  Beyer introduced the amendments for inclusion on H.R. 4489, the “FAA Leadership… Read more »