Big rail improvements are coming to Northern Virginia; elected officials announced Thursday the state has received $729 million in federal funding.
A proposed rendering of the Long Bridge project — adding a fourth rail track across the Potomac River and doubling passenger rail capacity. (Courtesy Virginia Passenger Rail Authority)
A proposed rendering of the Long Bridge project — adding a fourth rail track across the Potomac River and doubling passenger rail capacity. (Courtesy Virginia Passenger Rail Authority)
Big rail improvements are coming to Northern Virginia; elected officials announced Thursday the state has received $729 million in federal funding.
The money will go toward the construction of a new Long Bridge over the Potomac River. Currently a major chokepoint on East Coast, the project will double the bridge’s capacity.
“Long Bridge is like the skinny piece in the hourglass,” Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said at a news conference in Arlington. “Long Bridge is the connection between the Northeast and the Southeast, and there’s nothing that can really happen in terms of growing our rail usage — both for passenger and freight — if you don’t deal with Long Bridge.”
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According to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, about 1.3 million Amtrak riders and 4.5 million Virginia Railway Express riders cross the bridge every year.
Other improvements include laying down a third track in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, as well as upgrades to L’Enfant Plaza Station in D.C., which is VRE’s busiest station.
Leaders said these improvements will help reduce bottlenecks, expand capacity for both Amtrak and VRE service and set up potential rail expansion to Southwest Virginia.
“We in fact see this as not only an opportunity to connect people, but it’s a chance for us to connect commerce,” said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “This will enable connection down to our national leading port in the Port of Virginia. We will see people from Northern Virginia here in Arlington all the way down to Fredericksburg, Richmond, yes Petersburg down into Raleigh. We will see Virginians on the move.”
The funding comes from an infrastructure bill passed by Congress in 2021.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — City leaders in Virginia Beach are making a push to make sure the future of air defense ends up at the East Coast Master Jet Base NAS Oceana with the rollout of the F-35 fighter jet.
If you live in Virginia Beach, you know about jet noise and how NAS Oceana is home to hundreds of aircraft including the F-18 Super Hornet.
“We have the F-18s but they won’t be in service forever and there will be a next generation of aircraft that will be coming out,” Vice Mayor of Virginia Beach, Rosemary Wilson, said. “We need to show the Navy that we are welcoming and open to the future aircraft coming forward.”
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Part of that future is the use of F-35s being manufactured by Lockheed Martin in Texas.
Some of those fighters have been positioned on the West Coast but none have been slated to make their way to Oceana just yet.
That’s why Wilson and Mayor Boby Dyer have created a resolution telling the Navy the city supports bringing in new aircraft.
State leaders like Rep. Jen Kiggans are also trying to show the Navy our runways are ready.
“They would go first to Lemoore so we don’t want to be left out of the equation here on the East Coast just because we know that when we get new aircraft we want to be tip of the spear,” Kiggans said. “Mission-driven as well thinking what our mission is on the East Coast as well as the West Coast.”
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Oceana plays a vital role in the economy of the Resort City, as well.
“It’s 13,000 jobs but also with every job there’s a family and then there’s also the businesses that help support that,” Wilson said. “If we lost Oceana which we could have in 2005 it would have a huge impact on our city.”
Kiggans said that the new air defense could mean better access to defense dollars to be used to improve infrastructure, housing, and child care for military families.
“You know the F-18’s NAS Cecil Field, they closed Cecil Field in Jacksonville and they came up here,” Kiggans said. “We saw that we needed housing to go along with it, we needed hangar upgrades, infrastructure improvements so we still need those things we have a base that continues to need to be revitalized.”
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John Hood
Kiggans said these new jets won’t just fly in overnight and it’s a process that could take years.
There are permitting that needs to be done but Kiggans feels this resolution helps to show the city is ready.
“We want to get that ball rolling so we can make sure that we’re just staying relevant, staying in the discussion, we know they’re going to Lemoore, we need them here at Oceana as well,” Kiggans said.
Wilson said the resolution will likely be presented at city council’s July 2 meeting.
NHRA legend John Force was involved in a serious incident at the conclusion of his first round of eliminations for the Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Force had defeated Terry Haddock but the engine blew spectacularly in his Funny Car as he crossed the finish line. The car then crossed the centerline, striking both guard walls before coming to a stop.
According to a statement from the NHRA, the 75-year-old 16-time champion was alert and examined on-site by the NHRA medical team before being transferred to a local medical facility for further evaluation.
A 6-foot-2 forward from Johnston, Iowa, ESPN lists her as the No. 82 overall prospect in the country. She’s the second pledge in the Hokies’ 2025 class, joining Watauga, N.C., guard Kate Sears, whom ESPN ranks 85th.
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Jenkins originally committed to Marquette last October when Duffy was the head coach but reopened her recruitment after the coaching change. Less than three months later, she committed to Tech after visiting.
She’s the third former Golden Eagle pledge to flip to the Hokies, joining class of 2024 recruits Leila Wells and Kayl Petersen. Jenkins, who plays for ETG Midwest Elite 3SSB on the AAU circuit, held other offers from Cal, Providence and UNLV.
With the addition of Jenkins, the Hokies have 11 scholarship players for the 2025-26 season. Here’s the program’s future scholarship breakdown:
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