By Amanda Iacone   Virginia Statehouse News

RICHMOND — A fight is brewing again over the long-studied outer beltway that would connect Loudoun and Prince William counties with Dulles International Airport.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board voted Wednesday to designate a swath of state roads stretching through the outer Northern Virginia suburbs as a corridor of state significance. The designation will allow the state to look at the entire corridor when planning transportation needs in the area.

The state will look at roads, rail, transit and even bike paths, all of which could lead to future funding of construction projects, including the oft-discussed north-south new road, often referred to as an outer beltway, said state Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton.

The planning is part of the McDonnell administration’s effort to prepare for growth, prioritize needs and slot projects in the six-year plan for funding and construction. The past two governor’s administrations have allowed long-term planning to languish, Connaughton said.

The controversial road is drawn on the state’s long-range transportation map and could take decades to be built, Connaughton said.

Still environmental groups, Loudoun County officials and some residents don’t want the beltway and oppose the designation, but Prince William County leaders and area business leaders say a north-south road is needed.

Prince William County resident Martha Hendley, who was part of a residents’ group that opposed the proposal previously, reminded the board that it has considered this same project before, and the previous version, the Western Transportation Corridor, was rejected.

If the current board decided to pursue the project again, she asked that it conduct a complete analysis with just as much public input as the previous proposals.

Hendley and others urged the board to focus on the east-west congestion plaguing northern Virginia drivers daily.

Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said the board should consider alternatives to moving traffic rather than building a new beltway, calling it 1950s-style transportation planning and a poor use of the state’s resources. The coalition pushes for growth in development and transportation needs while conserving natural and historic resources.

He said building the road would encourage sprawl and is counter to the regional development plan that encourages development in existing commercial areas.

Dan Holmes, state policy director with the Piedmont Environmental Council, a regional advocacy organization, said the planned route is too close to Manassas National Battlefield, and an access road to the proposed beltway would cross over an area that saw the most intensive fighting during the Civil War.

But proponents of the designation said a north-south roadway is critical to grow businesses and gain access to Dulles. Representatives from chambers of commerce in Prince William, Loudoun and Fairfax counties supported the designation and the need for the beltway.

An advocate of airport development Leo Schefer said the intersection of Route 28 and Interstate 66 is among the worst in the state because of traffic heading to the airport.

“What we are talking about is planning. You start the process of planning with that corridor of statewide significance,” said Schefer, who is president of the Washington Airports Task Force. “It’s a case of plan now or pay latter. Believe you me. We’ve been paying for poor planning in northern Virginia for a very long time.”

But the biggest support came from Connaughton, who lives in in Prince William and urged the board to vote on the matter rather than delay a vote for a few months.

He said a connection is needed between I-66 and Dulles, other than Route 28. A way to reach the western side of the airport is needed to increase cargo shipping from Dulles, he said.

Trucks drive past Dulles toward airports in New York daily to ship cargo, and officials want more of that cargo to fly out of Virginia. As the federal government, which drives the northern Virginia economy, slows or cuts spending, the state has to be prepared to expand business opportunities, he said.

Connaughton said Loudoun and Prince William counties have each asked for state funds to extend or widen roads that would almost touch near their shared county line. The state must coordinate those projects. Connecting the roads would create a regional road.

Loudoun County, however, strongly opposes the outer beltway and passed a resolution in March reaffirming that stance.

Prince William County officials have long supported a new north-south corridor. Providing links to Dulles are critical for economic development in the region and the state, said Tracy Gordon, the county’s legislative lobbyist.

County officials aren’t worried about the impact on the battlefield, because the actual route can be changed and worked out later, Gordon said.

According to the resolution the board adopted Wednesday, the new corridor of state significance would cross through the area east and west of Route 234/Prince William Parkway and the board-approved location of the Tri-County Parkway between Interstate 95 and Route 50. It would provide connections to Route 7 and the Dulles Greenway.