The Techway is a proposed limited access highway across the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 linking Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...

 and Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...

. The project's name highlights the fact that both suburbs of Washington, DC are employment centers with a large representation of technology companies and government agencies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...

.

Description

Currently, Washington, DC has only one circumferential limited access highway, the Capital Beltway

Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)

Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...

 (designated Interstate 495), which crosses the Potomac River on an eight-lane American Legion Bridge. There are no bridges across the Potomac River to the west until U.S. Route 15

U.S. Route 15

U.S. Route 15 is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.US...

 at Point of Rocks, Maryland

Point of Rocks, Maryland

Point of Rocks is a community in Frederick County, Maryland. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catoctin Mountain, which were formed by the Potomac River cutting through the ridge in a water gap, a typical formation in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians...

. The Techway proposal would construct a limited access highway and bridge linking Virginia Route 28 north of Dulles Airport to the western terminus of Interstate 370

Interstate 370

Interstate 370 is a Interstate Highway spur route off I-270 in Gaithersburg, Maryland to the western end of toll road MD 200 at an interchange that provides access to the park and ride lot at the Shady Grove station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro. Despite the number, I-370 does not...

 in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The city had a population of 59,933 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville...

. To avoid criticism that such a project would encourage urban sprawl, the proponents advocated having very few interchanges on the route and emphasizing its use in making Dulles Airport and the associated office buildings in its vicinity more convenient to residents of Northern Montgomery County that currently use the American Legion Bridge.

History

In 2001, Congress authorized funds earmarked for conducting a feasibility and environmental study of the Techway. However, constituents of one of the primary sponsors of the study, Congressman Frank Wolf, protested the project, which would traverse his Congressional District. As a result, Wolf pressed to have the study halted in 2002.

In 2004, a Virginia Department of Transportation

Virginia Department of Transportation

The Virginia Department of Transportation is the agency of state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. Headquartered in Downtown Richmond, VDOT is responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the roads, bridges and tunnels in the...

 study of traffic on the American Legion Bridge showed that a significant portion of bridge users traveled between points west of that bridge, reviving the Techway concept. In addition, the Techway project was also discussed in connection with Maryland Route 200 that will extend Interstate 370

Interstate 370

Interstate 370 is a Interstate Highway spur route off I-270 in Gaithersburg, Maryland to the western end of toll road MD 200 at an interchange that provides access to the park and ride lot at the Shady Grove station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro. Despite the number, I-370 does not...

 to the east to U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...

. The combination of the Techway and this other extension would go a long way to form a Western Bypass of Washington DC for north-south traffic on Interstate 95

Interstate 95

Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...

. Also in 2004, The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing any bridge, citing concerns about destruction of existing neighborhoods, damage to parkland along the Potomac River and the need to protect the county's 90000 acres (364.2 km²) Agricultural Reserve.

As of 2011, the Techway project is not funded and not under active study.