Photo: Potential Route 24, Prince William Parkway, running from Manassas VRE to Potomac Mills. Map: NVTA

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority has unveiled a sweeping plan to bring bus rapid transit to the Washington metropolitan region — and one of the first local projects already has $6 million in design funding attached to it.

NVTA's Bus Rapid Transit Action Plan calls for up to 28 BRT routes across Northern Virginia, six of them running through Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park. NVTA CEO Monica Backmon presented the plan to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors at their July 14 meeting and to the City of Manassas City Council on July 13.

"This plan is a blueprint for having an integrated, connected bus rapid transit system for Northern Virginia, but also the metro region," Backmon told supervisors.

Bus rapid transit is a bus-based transit system designed to deliver the speed and reliability of rail with the flexibility of buses. BRT systems typically feature dedicated bus lanes, priority at traffic signals, off-board fare payment, and enhanced station amenities — allowing buses to move faster and more efficiently than regular traffic. NVTA describes BRT as ranging from basic configurations that share roads with regular traffic all the way to dedicated, fully separated bus-only lanes.

BRT has become increasingly popular in the U.S. over the past two decades as congestion has increased and communities have sought affordable transit alternatives to rail expansion, according to the Federal Transit Administration.

For Prince William County, the most tangible near-term piece of the plan is a dedicated bus lane on Minnieville Road between Caton Hill Road and Dale Boulevard — connecting to the Dale City and Horner Road commuter lots. Earlier this month, NVTA awarded $6 million toward the design of that $50 million project. The dedicated lane would operate in each direction during peak morning and evening periods — think a reserved, bus-only lane on a road Prince William commuters already drive every day, not a separate structure or new roadway. Enhanced stops and signal priority would be added as the project matures.

The design phase is expected to be completed by 2030, with construction beginning in 2032 and wrapping up by 2035.

The Minnieville Road corridor has already drawn significant attention from the county, including the long-planned Minnieville Road/Prince William Parkway interchange. The BRT line would add another layer of transportation investment to one of the county's most-traveled corridors.

Of the 28 routes in the full regional plan, six would run through Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park. Based on NVTA's route profiles, the routes range from Basic to Express BRT depending on the corridor:

I-66 Express: Gainesville to Vienna Metro station — Advanced/Express BRT

Va. 28 South: Manassas VRE station to Dulles Airport Metro station — Improved BRT

Manassas Connector: Northern Virginia Community College Manassas campus to Manassas Park — Basic/Improved BRT

Prince William Parkway: Manassas VRE to Potomac Mills — Basic BRT

I-95 Express: Va. 234 commuter lot in Dumfries to Crystal City — Express BRT

U.S. 1 South: Potomac Mills to Fort Belvoir — Improved/Advanced BRT

If the full system is built out by 2045, NVTA projects it would carry approximately 143,000 daily riders — or 47 million annually.

Backmon also stressed that BRT is not meant to compete with existing transit options in Prince William County, including OmniRide bus service or the Virginia Railway Express. Instead, she described BRT as a way to build on and connect those existing services into a more integrated regional network.

NVTA's Backmon emphasized to supervisors that the county needs to formally incorporate the BRT routes into its long-range planning documents — including its mobility plan, long-range plan, and comprehensive plan — to make the projects eligible for state and NVTA funding.

County Transportation Director Ric Canizales said the county could initiate a comprehensive plan amendment to include some of the routes in its next comprehensive plan update this fall. NVTA plans to adopt the next routes into its long-range regional plan, TransAction, by late 2027.

"We've got to be mindful that we are a growing community," said Board Chair Deshundra Jefferson. "We're a growing county and moving people around is critically important."

NVTA has already invested more than $880 million in five BRT segments across Northern Virginia, including a $754 million commitment to bring a dedicated bus lane along U.S. 1 between Fort Belvoir and the Huntington Metro station. The new plan builds on those existing investments to create a connected regional network.

For Prince William County residents, who have long lacked the Metro access available to many Northern Virginia neighbors, BRT represents what transit planners describe as the next best option: fast, frequent service that connects local commuter lots to regional destinations without the cost of a full rail line.

Learn more

Full details on the BRT Action Plan are available at NVTA's website: thenovaauthority.org/transportation-planning/planning-initiatives/bus-rapid-transit

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