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HIGHWAY PROJECTS GET A JUMP START TRANSPORTATION AREA CHOKE-POINTS TO GET AID local road projects

June 22, 2007 12:35 am

By KELLY HANNON

RICHMOND--Money is flowing into Fredericksburg-area road projects in the latest state six-year budget.

"This plan represents a significant improvement over the '07 plan," said Commonwealth Transportation Board member Cord Sterling of Stafford County.

A few highlights: $9.9 million to plan improvements to the congested Falmouth intersection; $10 million to start preparations for the widening of U.S. 17 in Stafford; and $30.3 million for through lanes and turn lanes on State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County , eastbound and westbound.

There's also $24.7 million to replace a bridge over Mattox Creek on State Route 205 in Westmoreland County, and $3.7 million to replace another bridge on Route 205 at Tide Mill Stream.

"We will see some congested areas addressed sooner than they would've been in the old program," said David Ogle, administrator of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Fredericksburg District.

Approved yesterday by the 17-member Commonwealth Transportation Board, the $11 billion plan shows the effects of the Virginia General Assembly's decision to fund transportation with an additional $3.1 billion.

The plan also contains another $550 million in one-time money for primary, secondary and urban road projects.

Together, all this money will spur on several high-profile road construction projects.

Nevertheless, not everything was funded.

Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer acknowledged some communities will be upset that a road or bridge is not getting money this year.

It can be more painful to add items than subtract, he said, something he hadn't anticipated during the previous six years of cuts.

In terms of distributing new money, "I think we've forgotten how to do this," Homer said.

Some projects in the Fredericksburg area got construction allocations, but others, like the U.S. 17 widening and Falmouth intersection, were given funds for engineering work and to purchase right of way. These steps are crucial to every project, but less visible to motorists.

The six-year plan can change each year, when the transportation board takes an annual vote. The plan is based on projected revenue, and when those revenues change, so can the amount of available money.

This year, Sterling fought to bring more funding to the Falmouth project, roughly half of the estimated $20 million cost for the project.

Stafford officials need to pick a design, Sterling said.

"Now it is incumbent upon those supervisors, who will need to deliver that community support," Sterling said.

Commonwealth Transportation Board member Mary Lee Carter, a former Spotsylvania supervisor who represents the Fredericksburg District, made the additional Route 3 lanes a priority.

"Route 3 has needed widening there for many, many years," she said.

Her only disappointment was that more money was not applied to Interstate 95, especially in the Massaponax area.

"I-95 cannot be a parking lot and that's what's happening in that corridor," Carter said.

Homer said the six-year plan contains no new sources of income for interstates. However, the I-95 High Occupancy Toll lane project, under study as a public-private partnership, would bring relief to the Fredericksburg area.

And he mentioned the study for the relocation of the State Route 630/Stafford Courthouse interchange, which will be necessary if HOT lanes are built.

Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization chairman Matt Kelly said he appreciates the work of the region's representatives on the state transportation board.

Long-term, he said the area should create a regional transportation authority, similar to those in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. FAMPO officials will work with VDOT and localities to discuss this possibility this year, he said. An authority will help the Fredericksburg area identify priorities and advocate for money. "At the end of the day, that's what's going to make and break us," said Kelly, who is a Fredericksburg councilman.

The six-year plan also contains $15 million for Virginia Railway Express locomotives and rail cars, and $19.1 million in track improvements in the I-95 rail corridor.

Nine public hearings were held last fall before VDOT and Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation staff prepared a draft plan, and another five hearings were held this spring once the draft was released.