Money for Virginia roads cut back

By: By PETER BACQUE RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH | WSLS 10
Published: March 07, 2008

State Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer said the reductions pose a challenge.

Because of tumbling state revenues, the Virginia Department of Transportation will have to cut $1.1 billion from its six-year highway and transit program.

That will eat up nearly half of the money Virginia planned to use to build state main and local roads during the next six years.

"These reductions pose a very serious challenge to the current six-year program, especially for regional and local highway construction," said state Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer.

Since the state wrote last year's six-year transportation program, the economy has slowed dramatically, taking transportation revenues down with it.

Besides the impact of the slumping economy, the $1.1 billion revenue shortfall reflects the repeal of the bad-driver fees, which will mean $388.9 million less for transportation during the next six years, VDOT said.

VDOT expects that primary, secondary and urban road building will be cut by an average of 44 percent. Additionally, public-transit systems will be reduced 10 percent.

However, Homer told state officials, "Assuming federal revenues remain steady, [funds for] highway maintenance and interstate highway construction should remain relatively constant."

VDOT said it will work with the Commonwealth Transportation Board and local governments to try to finish road projects already in the state's transportation plan before adding any new projects.

The state transportation board will decide what will happen to projects on the primary road system, while counties, cities and towns will make decisions on which secondary and urban projects will be cut.

"Localities will have to make difficult decisions," said state Transportation Commissioner David S. Ekern.

"This means that many of the commonwealth's much-needed local transportation improvements will have to be removed" from VDOT's highway construction program, said Virginians for Better Transportation, a highway and transit advocacy group.

With the reductions in state funds, local governments will "receive less local road funding than they did in 1996," the group said.

Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.