Public invited to rally to protest I-395 ramp

Concerned Residents of Landmark has planned a public rally for April 6, 10-11 a.m., to show their opposition to a express lanes terminus ramp on Interstate 395 between the Edsall Road and Duke Street exits. The rally will take place, rain or shine, at the Stevenson Avenue cul de sac, at the end of Stevenson between the Landmark Mews and Overlook communities.

People who live along both sides of I-395 are concerned that traffic congestion on I-39 as drivers merge from the express lanes to the regular lanes will result in dangerously high levels of air pollution. An environmental study commission by Concerned Residents of Landmark shows nitrogen dioxide levels will be 10 to 20 times higher than the minimum standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Concerned Residents of Landmark charges that the Virginia Department of Transportation failed to conduct the an appropriate environmental analysis as required by law. The VDOT study looks at the entire region rather than the impact on the communities close to the ramp. The group wants the ramp construction delayed until “VDOT conducts a local environmental and alternative site analysis and presents the results to the public.”

The group is working Alexandria Mayor William Euille and Rep.Jim Moran (D-Va.) to stop the project, “but VDOT continues to stonewall,” said Mary Hasty, one of the organizers of Concerned Residents of Landmark.  For more information on the rally, call 703/823-6963 or contact [email protected].