Congress of the Gnited States ‘Washington, DE 20510 April 12, 2016 Director Jonathan Jarvis National Park Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Director Jarvis, We write to urge in the strongest possible terms that the National Park Service (NPS) complete a strong application for the first-round of funding available in the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant project for the Arlington Memorial Bridge Reconstruction Project. Based on our meeting with you last week, it is clear that we need to work together as a regional delegation to ensure that a grant application is submitted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s April 14" deadline, We understand that the support by surrounding jurisdictions of NPS's application is required, and urge you to continue to work with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia to ensure NPS’s application is eligible and competitive. Arlington Memorial Bridge is not only a national memorial, but a critical multimodal link in the national capital region’s transportation network. Although this 84-year-old bridge cai 68,000 vehicles per day, itis structurally deficient and its poor condition has already begun to significantly constrain regional movement. Without full rehabilitation, estimated to cost $250 million, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) projects Arlington Memorial Bridge will not be safe for traffic by 2021, Engineering evaluations have demonstrated the bridge is in the ‘worst condition of all high-volume urban federally-owned bridges across the country. No other bridge that is owned and maintained by the federal government is in the same class with the Arlington Memorial Bridge with regards to size, traffic, historical value, and cost to rehabilitate. ‘The Park Service estimates that construction must begin by 2019 in order to prevent a full closure in 2021 Congress established the FASTLANE grant program specifically to fund transportation infrastructure projects of great national significance and the regional delegation worked to ensure that NPS could participate. Given the Bridge’s regional importance, the scale and cost of rehabilitation, and limited window of time before a closure is necessary, we feel strongly that the National Park Service must apply for a FASTLANE grant this year.For these reasons, we strongly urge the National Park Service to work cooperatively with transportation officials in Virginia and the District of Columbia to submit a FASTLANE, grant application this week for the Arlington Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation Project. As a delegation, we stand ready to support NPS in any way possible, Sincerely, Mark R. Warner Tim Kaine United States Senator United States Senator Alesse Mid Ald Z Zonet Eleanor Holmes Norton Gerry Connolly United States Representative United States Representative Don Beyer United States Representative CC: Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe Mayor of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser