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By MICHAEL MARTZ
Richmond TimesâDispatch
RICHMONDâCongress is moving to boost Virginiaâs ambitions for passenger railâwith eventual hourly train service between Richmond and Washington, D.C.âwhich depends on control of a small patch of federal land on both sides of the Potomac River.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to adopt the Long Bridge Act, sponsored by Reps. Rob Wittman, Râ1st, and Don Beyer, Dâ8th, two members of a Virginia congressional delegation that has been united in getting Congress to authorize the transfer of four acres from the National Park Service that is crucial to construction of a new rail bridge across the Potomac.
An act of Congress may help to streamline the planned Long Bridge project.
The project to build a new rail bridge across the Potomac, accompanied by new bike and pedestrian facilities, is one of the key components of a $3.7 billion plan to expand passenger and freight rail in Virginia.
To help it along, this week the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would cede National Park Service land near the river to Virginia or D.C. “as necessary for the Long Bridge Project.” The land transfer would reduce the complexity and cost of the project, as well as the time required to complete it.