STAR Solutions Officially Ends Participation in All Future Work in the I-81 Corridor!

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. |||

NEXT MEETING:
June 7th at 10am
Salem, VA