Prince William could be hit by VDOT construction cuts

By PETER BACQUÉ Media General News Service
Published: June 14, 2008

Virginia has almost no money to start new highway projects, according to state transportation officials.

The Virginia Department of Transportation released a list Friday of almost 200 construction projects that will be delayed or dropped from consideration in the state's proposed $7.9-billion six-year transportation program.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board will vote on Virginia’s 2009-2014 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program at its June 19 meeting in Richmond.

"Those projects have no foreseeable funding sources for the next six years," state Transportation Secre-tary Pierce R. Homer said of the works left out of the 2009-2014 building program.

"We are unable to initiate major new projects throughout the commonwealth simply due to the lack of fund-ing," Homer said.

An expected $1.1-billion decline in state transportation revenue for 2009-2014 prompted the rollbacks. Federal road funds are also becoming scarcer.

The General Assembly will meet June 23 to try again to come up with a solution for the state's increasingly oppressive urban congestion and rural access problems.

Among the projects delayed are:

• Construction of the interchange at U.S.1 and Va. 123 in Prince William

• Construction of the interchange at Va. 28 and Wellington Road to eliminate at-grade rail crossing in Manas-sa

Projects that are cut from the plan include:

• Widen I-66 from 4 to 8 lanes from U.S. 29/Gainesville to U.S. 15/Haymarket (2 miles) in Prince William

• Widen I-95 from 6 to 8 lanes from Va. 123 to Dale Boulevard (4 miles) in Prince William

• Reconstruct I-66 Bridge over U.S.29 in Prince William

• Construct interchange at Va. 234 Bypass and Balls Ford Road/Route 621 in Prince William

• Construct interchange at Va. 234 Bypass and Prince William Parkway/Liberia Avenue in Prince William

• Construct interchange at Va. 234 Bypass and Sudley Manor Drive in Prince William

• Widen U.S. 1 from 4 to 6 lanes from

Armistead Road to U.S. 123 (2 miles) in Fairfax County

• Widen U.S. 1 from 4 to 6 lanes from Featherstone Road to Occoquan Road (2 miles) in Prince William

• Widen Va. 7 from 4 to 6 lanes from Reston Avenue to Dulles Toll Road (7 miles) in Fairfax County

• Add westbound climbing lane on Va. 7 west of West Market Street in Leesburg

• Widen Va. 7 Bypass from 4 to 6 lanes—West Market Street to South King Street (1.5 mi) in Leesburg

• Widen Va. 28 from 4 to 6 lanes from U.S. 29 to Prince William County line (4 miles) in Fairfax County

• Widen Va. 28 from 2 to 4 lanes from Vint Hill Road to Fauquier County line (5 miles) in Prince William

• Construct interchange at U.S. 50 and Loudoun County Parkway in Loudoun County

•  Reconstruct U.S. 50 Bridge over I-66 (Ramp B) in Fairfax County

• Reconstruct I-95 Bridge over Old Telegraph Road in Fairfax County

• Reconstruct Duke Street/Route 236 Bridge over I-395 in Alexandria

• Reconstruct I-66 and I-495 interchange in Fairfax County

• Widen I-495/95 Beltway from Telegraph Road to I-395 (5 miles) in Fairfax County

Among the central Virginia projects dropped are interstate highway interchange improvements in the cities of Rich-mond and Petersburg and the counties of Goochland, Hanover and New Kent. Also left out are a slew of major bridge rehabilitations, including Interstate 64's Shockoe Valley bridges in Richmond.

Richmond-area drivers will get one break under the proposed plan: VDOT wants to fast-track the $40-million repair job on washboardlike I-64 between the Bryan Park interchange and Parham Road this year.

Also included in the proposed six-year plan are the Huguenot Bridge reconstruction in Richmond and the U.S. 360 widening project in Mechanicsville.

Peter Bacqué is a staff writer at Media General's Richmond Times Dispatch. News editor Aleks Dolzenko contributed to this report.