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SIX-YEAR ROAD PLAN VOTE SET

June 19, 2008 12:15 am

By KELLY HANNON

A blockbuster debate over transportation funding in Virginia is shaping up over the next week.

Today, the Commonwealth Transportation Board is poised to vote on a $10.1 billion Six-Year Improvement Program that's $700 million less than last year, leading to cuts in new highway construction.

The vote will precede an afternoon press conference by Gov. Tim Kaine in Richmond to discuss the transportation bill he plans to submit to a special session of the Virginia General Assembly on Monday.

Then, Kaine is holding a town hall meeting in Fredericksburg tonight to discuss his transportation plan.

Regardless of what happens in next week's special session, though, the state transportation board has to pass a budget for the upcoming year. And it votes on the Six-Year Improvement Program every year, so changes in future years are always possible if the special session yields new money for roads and transit.

"I'm ready to vote, and I'll just keep pushing for more funding," said Mary Lee Carter of Spotsylvania yesterday afternoon, following the CTB's Richmond meeting. Carter represents the 14 counties of the Fredericksburg District on the state transportation board.

Carter was disappointed several projects were cut for the Fredericksburg area, including several bridges, and she plans to press the issue with area legislators.

"I hope our representatives take notice of this. Are we jeopardizing our citizens' safety? This is what we have to look at," Carter said. "This is what transportation is about. It's about the safety issues."

According to the six-year program, the Fredericksburg District will get millions for new road construction projects between 2009 and 2014, and millions more to move projects closer to construction with design and engineering work.

But some projects, mostly bridge replacements, will be cut or delayed.

Cuts were made because the Virginia Department of Taxation predicts there will be less money over the next six years from the sources of transportation funding: motor vehicle sales, gas taxes, vehicle license fees and recordation taxes.

Since maintenance is a funding priority by state law, the cuts tricked down to new construction.

Among the local cuts--a new bridge over Mattox Creek in Westmoreland County and new bridges over Nine Mile Branch and Lick Run in Spotsylvania.

A new bridge over Chop-awamsic Creek in Stafford was cut, along with a new Downing Bridge over the Rappahannock River that connects Tappahannock and Warsaw.

A new $11.3 million bridge over Gouldman Creek in Westmoreland on State Route 205 was marked as "delayed." The bridge is still in the budget, but funding was stretched over a greater number of years, said David Ogle, Virginia Department of Transportation, Fredericksburg District Administrator.

"The project is still going to be constructed," he said. The large chunk of the bridge's cost will be funded in 2013 and 2014, and $3.2 million is needed beyond 2014, according to the six year program.

Projects that stayed in the budget include:

$21.1 million to reconstruct the Falmouth intersection in Stafford where Butler Road, Warrenton Road and U.S. 1 meet.

Completion of the Spotsylvania Courthouse Bypass with $32.2 million for a second phase.

The second half of the 7.5 mile bypass will circle Post Oak, cross the Ta River and reconnect with Route 208. It is the project's more expensive half, since it involves building two bridges.

$27 million to widen State Route 3 from Chewning Lane/Rutherford Drive to Gordon Road.

$36 million for the widening of U.S. 17 in Stafford from McLane Drive to Stafford Lakes Parkway, but the project is estimated to cost $47.6 million.

Statewide, more than 600 construction projects were delayed or cut, according to Reta Busher, VDOT chief financial officer.

"With the loss of the abusive driver fees and the transportation revenue reductions, the highway construction program is declining," Busher said.

Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Ho-mer singled out the Fredericksburg area during yesterday's meeting, saying communities on the "fringe" of regions like Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads face the worst traffic.

"I would say I drive 1,000 miles a week. I've driven on just about every road in the state and those fringe areas are where the worst transportation problems are, in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania," Homer said. "There is no alternative to I-95 it's main street."

Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com