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(Richmond-AP) -- The Virginia Department of Transportation had to spend twice the amount it had budgeted for snow removal and emergency repairs over the winter.

Five statewide snow emergencies and nine lesser regional ones cost the agency nearly $166-million. The total budget for plowing roads and fixing winter storm damage was $74-million.

Philip Shucet is the V-DOT commissioner. He said today that the overrun will force the agency to take $42-million from next year's highway construction budget to meet maintenance needs for the rest of this fiscal year.

The rough winter also brought progress on new highway construction nearly to a standstill. According to a report released at the Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting in Chantilly, none of the projects due for completion the first three months of 2003 came in on time.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Date published: 4/17/2003

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