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Bragg Road project will close the crossover

Update on road projects

Date published: 3/5/2007

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By Kelly Hannon

BUMPERS on today's cars can be expensive to repair.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced last week that only three of 17 vehicles sustained less than $1,500 in damage every time it crashed the bumpers at 10 mph or less. They are the Mazda 6, Mitsubishi Galant and Toyota Camry. To see how the 14 other cars fared--including the Volkswagen Passat, which sustained the most damage in a single test--$4,594--go online at iihs.org.

The institute also tested a 1981 Ford Escort. The total bill? $469.

Dear Kelly: There doesn't seem to be a week that goes by when there isn't another accident on Bragg Road in Spotsylvania from cars making a left into Giant from Bragg Road or cars leaving Giant and making a left onto Bragg Road. I thought I had heard they were going to close this crossover.

--Jan Knight, Spotsylvania

The Bragg Road project should be advertised for construction later this year, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Once the project is complete, the crossover near Giant Food will be closed, allowing only right turns for vehicles entering or exiting the Giant parking lot.

Dear Kelly: Where does money collected by the state gas tax go? Does it all go toward transportation?

--D. Stewart, Orange

The state calls it a "motor fuels tax," and the proceeds are divided a few ways, and nearly all the money is spent on transportation.

The tax is currently 17.5 cents per gallon for gasoline and 16 cents per gallon for diesel. The money is collected at the wholesale level, not the pump, so what a motorist actually pays in taxes can vary. "It's up to the retailer what portion of that they pass on to the consumer," said Bill Foy, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman.

First, right off the top, the state takes $20 million in proceeds for the Priority Transportation Fund, an account created by the Virginia General Assembly in 2000. The fund pays for new road construction.

Next, 14.85 cents per gallon is placed in the Highway Maintenance Operating Fund. This money maintains roads, and pays for snow removal, bridge cleaning and grass cutting, Foy said.

The Transportation Trust Fund gets 2.5 cents per gallon, which pays for construction of new roads.

Finally, the Department of Motor Vehicles gets less than 1 cent per gallon for administrative expenses related to collecting the taxes.

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Date published: 3/5/2007