By KELLY HANNON
Virginia will take the next step toward building express toll lanes on Interstate 95 in late 2008 and late 2009, if it chooses to sign agreements laying out final details.
These two comprehensive agreements will address the 56-mile public-private high occupancy toll lane project that will run from Eads Street near the Pentagon to Massaponax in Spotsylvania County.
The agreements will be signed a year apart because of a federally required environmental review, said Jeff Caldwell, the Virginia Department of Transportation's chief of communications. A review of the project's northern half--from Washington to Dumfries, with a one-lane extension into North Stafford--will conclude next year.
"The division that's in there, between the northern section and southern section, is about the environmental review. The project is very much one project," Caldwell said.
Questions about the division came up at two recent HOT-lane public meetings in the Fredericksburg area.
About 50 residents, commuters and area legislators attended each meeting--one in Stafford County and the other in Spotsylvania. Some people were curious about the lanes, others wanted details about logistics and toll prices.
One questioner asked about the comprehensive agreement, and whether it could guarantee the southern section would be built.
Robert H. Wilson, executive director of the region's planning agency, the George Washington Regional Commission, said officials want both segments addressed in one agreement. "They have to be looked at holistically," Wilson said.
Commuters at the meetings focused less on the agreements and more on how the lanes can help them.
Sonny Sundaramurthy of Caroline County drives 80 miles each way to his military job in Washington. He picks up slugs to use high occupancy vehicle lanes. And he thinks tolls will encourage, not discourage, carpooling.
Ruth Carlone of Stafford wants to build train tracks along I-95 instead of laying more asphalt. "I think we're missing the boat on not having surface or light rail," Carlone said.
Thomas Long, a Spotsylvania resident who drives 56 miles to work each day, alone, likes the idea of extending HOV lanes south of Dumfries, where they currently stop. Long enjoys using the lanes at off-hours. But why tolls? Why can't the state pay for them to be free? Long asked.
"I think it's a good idea," Quick's Bus Co. operations director Larry Williams said about the HOT lanes. If drivers can get into Washington and back faster, the company can transport more riders, expand service and possibly charge less, he said.
State Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, said he thinks transportation is a core state service for residents, and he wonders whether people should be charged tolls for traveling to and from work.
Yet, "Our problems are so acute it's hard to take any idea off the table. It seems like we've got to look at every possible solution."
But he warned that public reaction could mirror the outcry over the state's civil remedial fees for reckless and intoxicated drivers. The public seemed content with the fees in theory, until all the details, down to the dollar figures, were explicitly communicated, Houck said.
He anticipates that people will become more involved in the HOT-lane process as more details are worked out.
"We'll see how hot the HOT lanes get," Houck said.
The partnership seeking to build the lanes, Fluor-Transurban, expects to finalize an agreement with VDOT on the northern section by the end of 2008, and the southern section by late 2009.
Fluor-Transurban spokeswoman Jennifer Aument echoed Caldwell's view of the public-private partnership.
"We certainly view this as a 56-mile project that goes from Eads Street down to Massaponax," she said.
Transit is another point of debate.
Matt Kelly, a Fredericksburg city councilman who also chairs the region's Metropolitan Planning Organization, is worried this area will not get enough money to bolster transit. Toll lanes are expected to generate $250 million to $500 million for transit.
Kelly said, "$250 million between Northern Virginia and us is not a lot of money to play with."
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is conducting a study, expected to be released in December, that will look at commuter behavior and activity along I-95.
Tanya Husick, DRPT project manager, said the study will help determine where money should be spent. "Quite frankly, I suspect we'll have a lot of needs down here," Husick said.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436| WANT TO COMMENT?
You may submit comments through Friday, Aug. 10, to:
Public Affairs, Virginia Department of Transportation, 1401 East Broad St., Richmond, Va. 23219 or by sending e-mail to hotlanes@vdot.virginia.gov |