Manassas Park council backs CMAQ application and funds request for rail-crossing feasibility study

Manassas Park’s governing body approved two transportation grant support resolutions on the same night: one in support of a CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) application to fund active-transportation improvements and a second requesting RSTP (Regional Surface Transportation Program) funds of roughly $300,000 to study a grade-separated rail crossing at or near Manassas Drive.

Steve Hall, the transportation program manager, told council CMAQ and RSTP funds are federal dollars funneled regionally through NVTA and that the city is eligible to request its share for active-transportation projects. Staff said CMAQ allocations typically range in the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars and that the city historically has been successful in securing such funding. The CMAQ resolution the council approved supports an FY32 application to implement parts of the city’s active transportation plan.

On the RSTP item, staff requested approximately $300,000 to pay for a feasibility study into options for grade separation — including the possibility of shifting alignment or eliminating the at-grade Manassas Drive crossing. Staff said the feasibility work would examine a wide range of options and noted prior preliminary work on an overpass had cost the city roughly $10,000–$15,000. Council was told the RSTP request is a grant and that, for the feasibility-study request as presented, no city funding was required at the application stage.

Both resolutions were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff told council NVTA typically notifies applicants within a few months about awards and that staff will explore whether some funds could be forward-appropriated to an earlier fiscal year if feasible.

The council’s approvals allow staff to proceed with formal grant applications and follow the NVTA process for potential award and programming.