3rd Quarter 2006
Sept. 24, 2006 - News
Leader Editorial (Staunton):
'Highway to forever' vanishes like diesel exhaust in the wind; now we
must find fixes for I-81
'Star Solutions' plan no longer on the
table, to delight of many
We may never agree with Virginia's Secretary
of Transportation again, but we can agree with Pierce Homer about this:
"A border-to-border, one-size-fits-all answer is not the solution
for Interstate 81."
Amen to that.
With those words Pierce, who also chairs the Commonwealth Transportation
Board, dashed any chance that a consortium of corporations and contractors
operating under the umbrella of "Star Solutions" would forge
ahead with their plans to turn I-81 into an eight- to 12-lane superhighway.
Now Virginians who live along the more than 300 miles of I-81, along with
their local and state government representatives, must decide what are
more appropriate fixes for their traffic problems — now that the
specter of literally decades worth of invasive and destructive highway
construction has vanished in the sunlight of reason.
At Thursday's CTB meeting in Norfolk, Homer also said that it's "appropriate
for us to have both long- and short-term strategies to address conditions
on I-81. Rail is part of the solution. An ongoing program of safety improvements
is part of the solution. Long-term highway improvements also are needed."
Expanding freight lines along the I-81 corridor in order to take more
trucks off the road has been a fervent wish of opponents to the expensive
and more invasive plan proposed by Star Solutions. Widening and increasing
the lanes across the length and breadth of I-81 would merely have added
more trucks and traffic to the highway despite Star Solution's partial
reliance on truck tolls to help pay for the project. Now planners may
look at a combination of situational widening of the highway at choke
points and truck climbing and acceleration lanes in addition to rail-based
solutions.
Although some objectors feel there's too great an emphasis on highway
widening and too little on rail solutions, we hope that rail purists won't
place too many roadblocks in the way of fixing I-81's trouble spots. Now
that the bloated outsourcing nightmare proposed by Star Solutions is no
longer on the table, we need to work together to find common-sense solutions
to all our transportation needs. That will involve making compromises
even if they may seem to run counter to our personal beliefs about what's
best for everyone who lives and works along the I-81 corridor. If we can
work together, we should be able to come up with a consensus solution.
Opinions expressed in this feature represent the majority opinion
of the newspaper's editorial board, consisting of: Roger Watson, president
and publisher; David Fritz, executive editor; Cindy Corell, city editor;
Jim McCloskey, editorial cartoonist; Dennis Neal, opinion page editor;
and Macon Rich, production director. |||
Sept. 23, 2006 - Roanoke
Times
Safety first on Interstate 81
If today's major safety problems along
I-81 were addressed now, officials wouldn't be pressured into devising
a rash long-term plan.
Virginia Department of Transportation
officials said several things Thursday about the Interstate 81 corridor
that ought to make every driver sit up straight and pay attention:
> Immediate safety improvements need to be made regardless of what
long-term planning concludes.
> Eight lanes of concrete with half of them dedicated to trucks paying
tolls won't solve I-81's problems.
> The possibility that some freight could be diverted off the highway
and onto the rails must be pursued.
VDOT officials weren't saying these things earlier this year when the
agency began circulating and receiving comments on its draft study of
the corridor. Last week's recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation
Board just go to prove that the process does work.
To every driver, citizen, business owner, trucker, railroader, environmentalist
and other stakeholders who spoke out on the I-81 plan, give yourself a
hand for making a difference.
Your participation in the civic process deserves the applause of your
fellow citizens who thought speaking out doesn't matter.
To every VDOT official, politician and other involved decision-makers,
give yourself a hand for truly listening to the public. You, too, deserve
kudos for responsive governing.
After the rounds of congratulations quiet down, the governed and the governing
can prepare for the next leg of the process in deciding what comes next
for I-81, as the Commonwealth Transportation Board will decide next month
on the direction VDOT should embark.
The board should adopt VDOT's recommendation to scrap Star Solutions'
toll-road concept that would have paved over Virginia's scenic valleys
from border to border.
The board should also approve VDOT's request to set to work immediately
on relieving safety and congestions problems on the worst stretches of
I-81. This will buy much needed time to do this project right.
Further, the board should require VDOT to consider the results of a rail
corridor study when refining the options. This means considering the re-emergence
of rail as a prime freight mover along the entire corridor and an exploration
of passenger rail as a viable alternative.
The number of lanes and the length of miles of new highway that will be
needed, as well as the cost, will hinge on this analysis.
The best solution for I-81's deficiencies will come through a process
that gathers information from the best sources, including the citizens
of the commonwealth. |||
Sept. 23, 2006 - Daily
News Record (Harrisonburg)
In The Fast Lane
State Board Could Take Action On I-81
Improvements As Early As Next Month
By Dan WrightHARRISONBURG —
The Commonwealth Transportation Board could take action on improvements
to Interstate 81 as early as next month.
The proposals include longer on- and off-ramps, truck-climbing lanes and
rail improvements.
A $13 billion plan by transportation consortium Star Solutions to add
two truck-only lanes in each direction for the entire 325-mile length
of the highway has been replaced with a simpler approach, according to
Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer.
"We’re trying to do affordable, achievable things," Homer
said. "We’re not advancing the plan for dedicated truck lanes
at this point."
Virginia was wise to back away from that plan, said state Sen. Mark Obenshain,
R-Harrisonburg.
"It was going to be impossible to build a consensus on separate truck
lanes," Obenshain said. "And it was going to be impossible to
fund it."
Spot Improvements
The CTB could take action on the I-81 Corridor Improvement Study at its
Oct. 11 meeting in Roanoke.
The meeting, to begin at 1 p.m. at the Hotel Roanoke, will include an
opportunity for public comment.
"It’s important to look for improvements that are going to
make a difference," Obenshain said. "I’m glad to see this
plan is more focused on choke-points."
Studies by the Virginia Department of Transportation show that 37 percent
of I-81 currently needs one additional lane and the entire highway will
need additional capacity by 2035.
A program of spot improvements could be under way within two years, VDOT
says.
Truck climbing lanes are a short-term solution that would ease congestion
and improve safety, according to transportation officials.
Extending acceleration and deceleration lanes at some interchanges would
address existing safety and operational problems, officials say.
A study on rail improvements should be completed next summer. Norfolk
Southern Corp. is contributing consultants to the study as part of a public-private
partnership.
Truck-Climbing Lanes
Daily traffic on I-81 varies from 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles in rural areas
up to 60,000 vehicles around the cities.
Trucks make up 15 percent to 30 percent of that and will increase to 20
to 40 percent by 2035, Homer said.
For planning purposes on hilly terrain, one truck is the equivalent of
four cars, he added.
"They slow down going up the hill and then slingshot down the other
side," Homer said.
Truck-climbing lanes make good sense and are already in use in some places,
according to Dale Bennett, executive vice president of the Virginia Trucking
Association.
One example is south of Roanoke at Christiansburg Mountain, he added.
"It’s hard for trucks to maintain speed up steep inclines,"
Bennett said. "Truck lanes make it safer for everyone."
Current federal legislation has earmarked $100 million for construction
of truck lanes on I-81. Additional money is coming from the Virginia General
Assembly, according to Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton. "There’s
$45 million in the current budget for I-81," Saxman said. "Another
$45 million has already been appropriated for rail expansion."
Star Solutions may not be out of the loop entirely. The consortium is
already familiar with I-81 and could be called on to implement some of
the truck-climbing lanes, Homer said.
Contact Dan Wright at 574-6293
or dwright@dnronline.com |||
Sept. 23, 2006 - The Winchester Star
VDOT: I-81
widening should be scrapped
Transportation department recommends
making localized safety improvements instead
By Sarah A. Reid
WINCHESTER — The Commonwealth Transportation Board hasn’t
made any decisions yet, but a new recommendation regarding widening Interstate
81 is getting mixed reviews locally.
“I wouldn’t say just doing those things ... would take care
of the issues we are facing long-term here,” Frederick County Transportation
Planner John Bishop said during a telephone interview Friday. “...
Our road is going to be over capacity before we get it widened.”
The Virginia Department of Transportation recommended that the Commonwealth
Transportation Board shelve a plan to widen 325 miles of I-81 up to eight
lanes in some sections, in favor of smaller safety projects.
The idea of an eight-lane highway with tolls on truck-only lanes won’t
work and “is not being advanced,” Virginia Transportation
Secretary Pierce Homer said.
It was also recommended that the truck tolls that were proposed to pay
for the road be abandoned as an option.
If the separate toll roadway was built, by 2035, there would be more space
available for trucks than cars, VDOT spokesman Laura Bullock said.
“The Federal Highway Administration is not going to pay for us to
build something that doesn’t work,” she said about the widening
project, which had cost estimates near $13 billion.
The smaller safety projects recommended by VDOT would create truck-climbing
lanes and longer ramps at selected I-81 interchanges, like the interchange
work occurring near the Apple Blossom Mall in Winchester.
While none of the interchanges or areas where climbing lanes might be
built have been picked, VDOT engineers are already talking amongst themselves,
Bullock said.
“It’s very, very expensive, and there’s not enough money
to do that,” she said about all the short-term safety projects.
Congress appropriated $140 million in federal transportation funding last
year. The Federal Highway Administration approved the expenditure of some
of that money on truck climbing lanes, Bullock said.
But she knows, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board has been told,
the smaller-scale projects won’t solve congestion problems projected
for I-81 in the future.
“Environmentally and monetarily, it just didn’t seem to be
feasible,” said Jim Davis of Winchester, the Shenandoah Valley’s
representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, about the preliminary
rejection of the earlier widening proposal.
VDOT also recommended that I-81 be divided into seven sections and studied
individually to see how many lanes were needed in each area, Davis said.
VDOT officials said they would like to see a private-public partnership
with Norfolk Southern that would allow the train company to expand its
rail line, taking some freight off the highway.
When asked if these improvements would be enough to ease congestion on
I-81, Davis said: “... it would be a good interim thing, then we
will come back with the good formal studies of the seven segments ...”
All the CTB members verbally said they would support the safety improvements
and looking at individual sections of the interstate, but a formal vote
will not be taken until October, Davis said.
If the recommendation is approved, $100 million will be released so work
on the safety projects can begin.
Randy Mullet, the vice president of government affairs for the Con-Way
trucking firm, said he’s happy with VDOT’s recommendation.
“If they can widen some of the areas where there are grades to add
some truck passing lanes, I think that would be a very good solution to
get things moving quickly,” he said.
Con-Way, one of the Top 10 largest carriers in the nation, hasn’t
experienced any safety issues or slower delivery times because of heavy
traffic on I-81, Mullet said, adding that money might be better spent
in other parts of the state that have more highway congestion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Sarah A. Reid at sreid@winchesterstar.com
|||
Sept. 22, 2006 - Richmond
Times-Dispatch
Virginia weighing safety improvements
over I-81 widening
Associated Press - RICHMOND, Va. - A proposal to widen Interstate 81 through
Virginia will be shelved in favor of safety changes such as truck-climbing
lanes, according to a state transportation department recommendation.
The idea of an eight-lane highway with tolls on truck-only lanes won't
work and "is not being advanced," said Pierce Homer, state transportation
secretary.
The Virginia Department of Transportation presented the recommendation
Thursday in Norfolk to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which will
consider the recommendation next month.
Star Solutions, a coalition of seven construction firms, has been seeking
funding installments to get the 325-mile widening under way. The widening
project would cost $11 billion and take about 15 years to complete.
Instead of the eight-lane upgrade that has been studied for three years,
the transportation planners said Virginia needs to move faster on I-81
by making safety improvements such as the climbing lanes and longer ramps
at a few interchanges. Proposed truck-only tolls, intended to pay for
the widening, would also be abandoned.
"It's about time," said Jay Smith, a spokesman for the trucking
industry, which has fought the concept since it was proposed in 2002 by
Star Solutions.
Homer said Virginia needs to use $140 million it got from Congress last
year in the federal transportation bill. The first I-81 studies were done
10 years ago and the current round of studies has been under way three
years, he said.
Trip Pollard of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville
said his group favors immediate safety improvements and suggested they
be approved without the board's full agreement on an environmental statement.|||
Sept. 22, 2006 - Bristol
Herald Courier
I-81 project hits the wall
A multi-billion-dollar plan to widen the full length of Interstate 81
in Virginia has hit a dead end.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board met in Norfolk Thursday and heard
about a series of small-scale fixes to the traffic congestion problems
that plague parts of the state’s north-south corridor.
The discussions are part of a "new direction" the state will
take to improve I-81, Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer said.
"We have determined that a 325-mile-long dedicated truck way is not
appropriate," Homer said.
STAR Solutions, a consortium of construction and design firms, proposed
adding two lanes in each direction for the entire length of the roadway.
Those extra lanes would have been separated from the normal traffic lanes,
reserved exclusively for truck traffic.
STAR estimated that the project would cost $13 billion over 15 years.
"Really, we’re trying to be pragmatic and realize the limited
availability of funds," Homer said.
The STAR proposal depended on large federal subsidies and money generated
by a planned toll on trucks using the road. When Congress approved a new
highway spending bill last year, however, it included just $140 million
for the I-81 project.
Now, state transportation officials are focusing on a series of smaller
fixes that should ease congestion on some of the worst stretches of highway.
The state can use $100 million of the federal money approved in July 2005
for building truck climbing lanes that should improve safety and move
slow-moving trucks out of the main travel lanes, Homer said.
But estimates put the cost of constructing just one mile of climbing lane
at nearly $20 million, so the state will need to find more money to address
the highway’s short-term needs.
"There is no funding available for long-term projects, and we only
have 25 percent of the funding needed for the short-term projects,"
Homer said.
The state does have cash to begin spending millions to clear up railroad
bottlenecks in the Manassas area, Homer said.
Work there in the next five years could help move as many as 300 trucks
a day off the interstate. Larger-scale rail improvements will be part
of any long-range improvement plan, Homer said, but will depend on the
availability of funds.
It’s clear that in the long run the entire corridor will need at
least one more travel lane in each direction to handle projected traffic
growth, according to a statement from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
More than 60 percent of the highway will need two or more lanes on both
sides to handle projected traffic, according to the statement.
And while the STAR Solutions proposal for a separate truck highway is
officially off the table, STAR could compete for the improvements planned,
the transportation secretary said.
"It is our intention to be VDOT’s partner on this," said
Tyler Bishop, spokesman for STAR Solutions. "Dedicated truck ways
were always just a concept."
The Transportation Board will meet again at 1 p.m. on Oct. 11 in Roanoke
and is expected to take formal action on at least the short-term proposals
issued Thursday, Homer said. The meeting, at the Hotel Roanoke, will include
an opportunity for public comment.
jgeraghty@bristolnews.com
| (276) 645-2512 |||
Sept. 22, 2006 - Roanoke Times
VDOT advocates
safety upgrades for Interstate 81
Instead of an eight-lane overhaul, VDOT
recommends safety improvements -- now.
By Ray Reed- 981-3351
NORFOLK -- A new vision for improving Interstate 81 went public Thursday,
leaving the idea of separate truck lanes in the ditch along with the truck-only
tolls that would have paid for them.
The new plan was presented to the Commonwealth Transportation Board by
officials of the Virginia Department of Transportation who deal with highways
and rails. They said they hope the transportation board will approve the
changes next month.
Instead of an eight-lane, border-to-border upgrade that has been studied
for three years, the transportation planners said Virginia needs to move
faster on I-81 by making safety improvements such as more truck-climbing
lanes and longer ramps at a few interchanges.
Rail upgrades are part of the planners' picture, too, with a study led
by Norfolk Southern Corp. that could lead to government transportation
dollars being used to upgrade tracks on NS' north-south lines.
The quick fixes don't change the need to add lanes to I-81, the transportation
planners said. The highway is sure to be heavily congested by 2035, with
double today's cars and triple the number of trucks.
However, the concept of an eight-lane highway with tolls on truck-only
lanes just won't work and "is not being advanced" in the environmental
impact study that is almost complete after three years of work by VDOT,
said Pierce Homer, state transportation secretary.
"It's about time," said Jay Smith, a spokesman for the trucking
industry, which has fought the truck-only tolls concept since it was proposed
in 2002 by Star Solutions, a road builders consortium.
Four members of the transportation board who represent the I-81 corridor
echoed the time sentiment. They want something done as quickly as possible.
Dana Martin of Roanoke, James Davis of Winchester, Jim Bowie of Bristol
and James Lee Keen of Vansant all said the I-81 planning process has taken
too long already.
"What I've heard from so many people is, 'What are you waiting for?'
" Martin said.
One board member still wants to wait. Peter Schwartz of Delaplane in Northern
Virginia said the board seemed to be rushing toward approving the I-81
environmental study at its next meeting, although the rail study, being
led by Norfolk Southern, could help decide how many new lanes will be
needed on I-81.
Homer said it's time to move, because Virginia needs to use the $140 million
it got from Congress last year in the federal transportation bill. The
first I-81 studies were done 10 years ago and the current round of studies
has been under way three years, Homer said.
Two groups at the meeting Thursday also want the transportation board
to delay approving the environmental study.
Michael Testerman, representing the Rail Solution activist group that
wants a large-scale rail upgrade in the I-81 corridor, said the current
environmental study is flawed because it does not dig deeply enough into
rail alternatives.
Testerman urged the board to wait for the rail study, expected to be complete
next summer.
Trip Pollard of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville
said his group favors immediate safety improvements and suggested they
be approved without the board's full agreement on the environmental statement.
Pollard said his group opposes going forward with an environmental study
that could add one or two lanes in each direction on I-81 "when you
don't have the rail study yet."
Homer and VDOT officials said the environmental study and a separate report
by a consultant two years ago agreed on one important concept: Rail upgrades
can take only 2 percent to 3 percent of the truck traffic off I-81.
For NS, that would be a significant amount of business. Each 1 percent
of truck freight shifted to rail would mean a 10 percent increase in the
railroad's container freight shipments in the corridor, said Kevin Page
of the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
The rail study would evaluate rails in a five-state, 500-mile corridor
from Tennessee to Pennsylvania. It's time frame is faster than the environmental
impact analysis VDOT has been conducting for the I-81 corridor, solely
in Virginia, and the rail-alone study does not require environmental analysis
until it identifies construction sites. |||
Sept. 20, 2006 - Augusta
Free Press
Transportation brinksmanship
by Chris Graham chris@augustafreepress.com
If they don't get it done later this month, the voters might decide the
outcome of the ongoing transportation debate in November 2007.
"Everybody knows it's unfinished business - so we've got to get back
together to see if we can fix it," Gov. Tim Kaine said of the situation
facing state leaders as the Virginia General Assembly prepares for a special
session on transportation scheduled for Sept. 27-30.
"We're either going to get in and solve it, or let the chips fall
where they may, and let the voters talk about it in '07," Kaine told
The Augusta Free Press.
All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for re-election in 2007 -
including all 40 seats in the Virginia Senate, which has not had to face
the voters since 2003, or one year before a majority of senators aligned
with former governor Mark Warner to pressure the House of Delegates into
signing on to a billion-dollar tax increase to provide additional state
revenues for education and state employees' salaries.
The 2004 budget controversy was followed by a sharp break this year over
attempts by the Senate and Gov. Kaine to come up with additional revenues
to address standing transportation-infrastructure needs.
"I think taxes will be an important issue in the 2007 campaigns,
and I'm very comfortable with that," said Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling,
a Republican who served for 10 years in the Senate before being elected
to his current post in 2005.
"There is a clear difference between the parties on the issue of
taxes. Democrats in the General Assembly have consistently supported higher
taxes at a time when economic growth has been significant. That position
is difficult to defend. Republicans have supported funding the core responsibilities
of state government - things like education, public safety and transportation
- through economic growth, not higher taxes. In those districts where
we have competitive races, the debate over higher taxes will be front
and center, and I think most voters will agree with our approach,"
Bolling told the AFP.
One nuance to this is that it's not entirely a Republican-versus-Democrat
issue, as Bolling tried to frame it above. Several key members of the
Republican majority in the Senate have sided with the Democratic minority
in the recent budget debates. Included in that mix are one-time party
stalwarts like Winchester Republican Sen. Russ Potts, who broke from the
party last fall to run for governor as an independent in part because
of his strong feelings on the transportation issue.
"Should we address land-use policies, as the House says we should
do? Yes. Should we tie in development with transportation needs, as the
House says we need to do? Yes. But at the end of the day, you still have
to have money," Potts said.
|
"And one thing we have to realize here is this - this isn't a Republican
problem or a Democratic problem, it's a Virginia problem," Potts
told the AFP.
But what is the Virginia solution? Is it coming up with more money to
commit to transportation projects - as the men and women elected by the
voters to serve in the Senate seem to think? Or is it doing what can be
done within the bounds of the current budgetary climate - as the men and
women elected by the voters to serve in the House of Delegates seem to
think?
"On the House side, we're pressing forward, listening to the people,"
Staunton Republican Del. Chris Saxman said.
"We know things have to be done. We know that we have a sense of
urgency now. We know we have to think creatively and outside the box.
We know we have to manage better our congestion issues in the Commonwealth
and develop real strategies for the long-term benefit of the maintenance
of our roads. But just throwing more money at the same old problem isn't
going to get us anywhere different," Saxman told the AFP.
So this leaves us ... where again, exactly?
"Depending on what comes out of this special session and the regular
session next year, which probably isn't going to change a whole lot, people
are going to have that comparison between what the Senate has been proposing
and has been able to get done and what the House has been doing,"
University of Virginia Center for Politics political analyst Matt Smyth
told the AFP.
"It's going to be up to the voters to decide the direction that they
want to see things move in," Smyth said. |||
Sept. 18, 2006 - Augusta Free Press
Eye on Virginia:
Is consensus on transportation in the cards?
by Chris Graham chris@augustafreepress.com
Leaders in the majority Republican Party caucus in the Virginia House
of Delegates said early and often that if their counterparts in the Virginia
Senate would come to an agreement on a budget for the 2006-2008 biennium
this spring, then they would be willing to return to Richmond in the fall
to deal specifically with the transportation issue that has been the subject
of so much discussion in the Old Dominion in recent years.
Meaning, of course, that with the special session that resulted from that
brokered deal on the horizon, "yes, absolutely, the ball is in their
court at this point," Brian Moran, an Alexandria delegate who is
the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told The Augusta Free Press.
House Republican leaders appear to be getting ready to run a familiar
play - last week, House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, unveiled the
first part of a three-part plan that the House GOP caucus hopes sets the
agenda for the upcoming Sept. 27-30 special session on transportation
that focuses on enacting substantive reforms to the way the Virginia Department
of Transportation conducts its business.
Among the reforms: requiring the transportation department to focus its
attention in the spending sphere on congestion-reducing projects, developing
a plan for better utilizing public-private partnerships and creating a
commission to provide oversight on VDOT's funding decisions.
"There's no question that the Virginia Department of Transportation
and its workers are well-meaning - they're hard-working, particularly
out in the field. But it's a bureaucracy that's grown and grown and grown.
It's a central-styled organization that has all its concentration in Richmond.
Decisions are made in Richmond that I think need to be made locally. We
really need to streamline the process," Howell told the AFP
"We need to get more involved in public-private partnerships. Virginia
led the way - Virginia was the first state in the union to have a Public-Private
Transportation Act, in 1995 under Gov. Allen. And since then, we've fallen
behind. Other states have copied the bill, modeled the bill, and they're
doing much more with it than we are. We're doing very little with it.
We need to change that. I think the future of us dealing with transportation
initiatives is to look at more public-private partnerships," Howell
said.
"It's a multifaceted approach that we're taking. What we're saying
is there's a lot more to it than just raising taxes a billion dollars
a year and giving the money to VDOT. We don't think that's going to solve
the problem - and we don't think it's necessary," Howell said.
Winchester Republican Sen. Russ Potts characterized the House plan as
"more of the same-old, same-old that we've been hearing from the
House the past couple of years."
"You can have all the half-baked soundbites that you want about changing
the way that VDOT does business and changing VDOT's philosophy and all
that - but that isn't worth a tinker's damn without money," said
Potts, who ran for governor as an independent last year with a statewide
transportation fix as his central campaign theme and who voted with a
bipartisan majority of state senators this year for a biennial budget
that included a proposed increase in taxes on gasoline purchases to provide
funding for transportation-system improvements.
"How many times has VDOT gone through reorganizations - everything
from George Allen laying off VDOT employees to every governor since trying
to put on his imprint? The only thing that's going to change VDOT's effectiveness
is money. Show me the money," Potts told the AFP.
Also critical of the House approach is Mount Solon Republican Sen. Emmett
Hanger.
"They're trying to put a different spin on this - saying that it's
premature to say that we need additional money right now, that it's just
a matter of assigning priorities. I really think most people are beyond
that - they recognize that our population has grown to the extent that
that really isn't a legitimate argument at this point, and that we've
really made great strides to bringing more efficiency to the operation
of VDOT and the bid process for these projects," Hanger said.
"The real issue, it seems, is that there really isn't an adequate
amount of money flowing into the transportation fund - the primary reason
for that being that the system itself has gotten much larger, and the
monies that are coming in are having to go to the first priority, and
that's just to maintain what we already have. So there are no monies then
left to work with the additional capacity that's needed," Hanger
told the AFP.
But it's not as if House Republicans don't agree on that one point - that
more monies will be needed to come up with a long-term transportation
solution. Steve Landes, a Weyers Cave Republican and chair of the House
Republican Caucus, thinks "there will be some consensus on the need
for additional dollars" in the upcoming special legislative session
- "but I don't think it will be in the form of a general tax increase."
"It may come in the form of anything from bonding through the current
budget with a dedicated source of existing revenue to cover those bonds
to jumpstart projects. It could be in the form of allowing some regions
of the state some additional authority, whether it's to allow them to
issue bonds to allow them to jumpstart programs, or it could be that tolling
will be allowed in certain areas or on certain projects. But I don't see
it coming in the form of a gas-tax increase or using a portion of the
sales tax or those kinds of things," Landes told the AFP.
Hanger himself stopped short of advocating tax increases as a means of
providing the additional monies that he feels are needed to address transportation
problems statewide.
"There are some conversations that are beginning to be had that may
be productive. The direction that some of us have been pushing things
into is to create regional authorities in Northern Virginia and in Hampton
Roads and give them the authority to levy tolls - and that is being discussed
quite a bit right now," Hanger said. "Some aren't willing to
allow that tolling authority to be extended to existing facilities - they
want it just to go to new facilities, which really won't raise the kind
of money that you need to raise in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads
to build the additional infrastructure and support some of the alternative
mass-transit options that are out there. But there does at least seem
to be more of a positive acceptance in creating those authorities.
"There's still debate about whether or not there would be any additional
revenue. From my standpoint, I think if you do the tolls, and you do them
comprehensively, that may produce enough revenue - and that might be as
much as we can accomplish right now. I think this can address a significant
part of the dilemma, if we authorize those authorities and tolls in Northern
Virginia and Hampton Roads," Hanger said.
House Minority Leader Frank Hall, D-Richmond, thinks these kinds of outside-the-box
solutions might be just what legislators need to be thinking of as the
special session approaches.
"Regional self-help programs certainly have their place - because
the problem is not the same in Southside, for example, as it is in Northern
Virginia or Tidewater," Hall said.
"I think it's going to take a smorgasbord of tools, if you will -
both financing mechanisms as well as transportation mechanisms - to solve
these problems. There will have to be some rail, for certain. There's
going to have to be some roads, yes. There's going to have to be toll
roads, clearly. There's going to have to be public-private partnerships.
What you've got to do is you've got to come up with a combination of those
transportation tools, mechanisms and financing vehicles that will make
it work," Hall told the AFP.
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling hears this kind of talk and thinks it is a clear
sign that things are moving in the right direction as far as the effort
to come up with a transportation fix is concerned.
"I've encouraged the members of the General Assembly to lay their
disagreement over taxes aside and focus on areas where agreement is possible.
If they are willing to do that, we can clearly get some good things done
and take an important first step toward solving our long-term transportation
needs," the Republican Bolling told the AFP.
Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, has been sounding a similar message in recent
weeks.
"I spoke to the money committee last month, and my point in that
money-committee speech was, hey, we're far apart on some things, but let's
acknowledge that there's a number of things that we're together on. And
let's use the things that we're together on to build the ultimate answer.
If we just focus on how we're far apart on these one or two issues, we
can miss the fact that there are some things that we can agree on that
can be the basis to start that solution," Kaine told the AFP.
"I'm more optimistic than I was when the budget was completed in
June that we'll do something meaningful - not a guarantee, but I'm optimistic,"
Kaine said. |||
Sept. 9, 2006 - Kingsport Times-News - Editorial
Transportation
Board looking at ways to improve Interstate 81 travel
NORFOLK - Rail improvements, truck climbing lanes, longer on- and off-ramps
at interchanges, and greater use of technology to manage traffic are part
of a comprehensive Interstate 81 improvement strategy now under consideration
by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
Members of the CTB heard presentations on the I-81 Corridor Improvement
Study, planned safety and operational improvements, and the I-81 Freight
Rail Study during Thursday's CTB meeting at the Virginia Port Authority
in Norfolk.
Results from the I-81 Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement and
significant public involvement activities indicate that future traffic
estimates for numbers of cars and trucks on I-81 do not support building
a separate roadway for trucks along the entire length of the corridor.
However, nearly all of the I-81 corridor will need additional capacity
by 2035.
"We are committed to a balanced approach for improving I-81. A comprehensive
strategy must prioritize safety improvements and include enhanced freight
rail service," said Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.
Planning studies indicate that adding a varying number of general purpose
lanes most effectively addresses highway capacity issues. Current and
future traffic demand shows the need for selective lane-widening that
varies from one to two lanes. Studies show that 37 percent of the 325-mile
corridor needs one additional lane, while the remainder may need up to
two additional lanes to handle anticipated traffic demand.
"A border-to-border, one-size-fits-all answer is not the solution
for I-81," said Pierce Homer, Virginia's secretary of transportation
and chairman of the CTB. "It's appropriate for us to have both long-
and short-term strategies to address conditions on I-81. Rail is part
of the solution. An ongoing program of safety improvements is part of
the solution. Long-term highway improvements also are needed."
The I-81 Freight Rail Study will outline a strategic approach to maximizing
the capacity of freight rail in the corridor. The Virginia Department
of Rail and Public Transportation, in coordination with the Multimodal
Planning Office, will conduct the study. Key components include establishing
potential scenarios of freight traffic diversion to rail, identifying
which rail improvements will provide the most public benefit, and consulting
with other states along I-81 to improve freight rail transportation throughout
the corridor.
The study will begin this fall, with completion in summer 2007.
This study and subsequent improvement efforts will broaden Virginia's
cooperation with private rail industry. Norfolk Southern is contributing
consultant and staff support as part of a public-private partnership.
State funding is being provided through statewide planning funds, and
all study results will be independently validated by the commonwealth.
Once the I-81 Freight Rail Study is completed, Virginia will be positioned
to advance high-impact rail improvement projects in the I-81 corridor
as early as next year.
While long-term solutions for capacity issues on I-81 are being studied,
the Virginia Department of Transportation briefed the CTB regarding short-term
projects that can ease congestion and how the agency will use technology
to reduce congestion and improve safety.
VDOT plans to use federal earmarks to build truck climbing lanes in selected
locations. These dedicated lanes allow slower-traveling heavy trucks to
move out of mainline traffic flow on steep inclines. Current federal transportation
legislation includes $100 million to be used on I-81 for building dedicated
truck lanes.
In addition, a program of spot improvements will be under design as soon
as possible, with some construction under way within two years. These
projects would address existing safety and operational problems in many
locations. Examples include extending acceleration and deceleration lanes
at several interchanges and installing guardrail along the inside lane
of narrow medians to prevent vehicles from veering across the median into
oncoming traffic.
VDOT will also use technology to improve incident response, reduce congestion
and enhance safety. Such operational improvements focus on maximizing
the flow of traffic on the existing road network - without building additional
lanes. Examples include adding cameras and variable message signs to provide
real-time travel information directly to drivers, increasing Safety Service
Patrol coverage and hours of operation, and enhancing traveler information
services such as 511 Virginia.
CTB members will consider these I-81 proposals in coming weeks and are
expected to take possible action at the board's Oct. 11 meeting at the
Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and include
an opportunity for public comment. |||