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Body Cameras, NoVA Infrastructure Projects Funded In Omnibus Spending Bill

Originally published on Patch

The federal government's latest omnibus spending bill passed Congress this week, and Rep. Don Beyer said it includes funding for projects in his Northern Virginia district.

Beyer, who represents Virginia's 8th congressional district, said all of his community project funding requests were included in the federal spending bill. The spending bill is expected to soon be signed by President Joe Biden.

"I am proud to announce that bipartisan legislation passed by Congress this week and headed to President Biden’s desk for signature includes funding I secured for important Northern Virginia initiatives," said Beyer in a statement. "This funding will translate to significant, beneficial projects in Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax County."

 

In Arlington County, the spending bill includes $325,000 for the Bluemont Junction Trail, $800,000 for the Glencarlyn Park Pedestrian Bridge, and $390,000 for behavioral health crisis care. The Bluemont trail project involves milling and repaving the heavily-used trail, which serves bicyclists and pedestrians. The 1.2-mile trail connects the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail. The Glencarlyn Park project involves replacement of the pedestrian bridge after the old bridge was lost in July 2019 flooding. The bridge connects the main park area, dog exercise area and communities west of Four Mile Run to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.

Arlington County's behavioral health crisis care funds will purchase two medically equipped vehicles for the mobile crisis response team. The funds will support the county's "help not handcuffs" approach to those in behavioral health crises.

In the City of Alexandria, there is $600,000 for a pilot program of body cameras at the Alexandria Police Department. The funding would provide 25 to 50 body cameras with use focused on high-impact shifts and high-need areas. Police departments in Alexandria and around the U.S. are using body cameras to provide transparency and accountability to policing.

As part of the city's efforts to improve stormwater infrastructure, the spending bill also provides $420,000 for storm sewer improvements at Clifford Avenue, Fulton Street and Manning Street. The storm sewer systems in this area were designed 75 years ago and cannot handle significant rainfall events that cause flash flooding with increasing frequency. This particular project will increase inlet sizes and connect pipes at key locations to better move stormwater from streets to storm sewers, then Four Mile Run.

Another project concerns part of Alexandria and Fairfax County. The spending bill allocates $300,000 for traffic and safety measures on the George Washington Memorial Parkway from Belle Haven to the City of Alexandria. The National Park Service conducted a safety study on the southern part of the parkway and has already implemented initial improvements, including a road diet between Tulane Drive and Stratford Lane. This funding focuses on drainage repairs, striping, and sealing along the parkway from the City of Alexandria to Belle Haven Park to improve safety for drivers as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.

Other funding for Fairfax County includes $1 million for a Pohick Road sidewalk project from Interstate 95 to Richmond Highway and $800,000 for a regional projects data warehouse. The Pohick Road project will complete missing links of the sidewalk between I-95 and Richmond Highway, helping connect residential neighborhoods to Richmond Highway.

For the City of Falls Church, the bill provides $396,227 for an electric school bus and charging infrastructure, as well as $400,000 for a Lincoln Avenue stormwater project. The Lincoln Avenue project seeks to address a lack of underground stormwater infrastructure, which causes stormwater to travel in the roadway and frequently flood houses. This project add underground detention, piping, regrading, and curb modifications to divert water away from homes.