Background

The Western Transportation Corridor (WTC) has been discussed and studied on and off since the 1960s when the Beltway was built and outer beltways were discussed.

The project was last studied in 1997. That study showed that little through traffic would use the road, and it would not relieve congestion on the beltway. In fact, it would increase traffic on east-west roads such as Route 7, Rt. 50 and I-66, and would even increase traffic on Route 15.

The WTC was removed from Loudoun's transportation plan. In 2003, it was removed from the Virginia's Six-Year Plan.

In 2004, the new Loudoun Board of Supervisors considered putting the Loudoun portion of the WTC back on the county transportation plan but the effort lost steam in May when citizens opposed it by the hundreds. The Board sent the resolution back to the Planning Commission and the decision has been delayed indefinitely.

In late 2004, the Virginia Deparment of Transportation (VDOT) put out a request for information from private companies interested in building the WTC through a public-private partnership. No companies submitted information by the deadline. (Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch coverage)

The highway is closely linked to changes to the growth plan currently under consideration in Loudoun County to allow more development.

More information on the Tri-County Parkway
More information on New Potomac River Crossings