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Spotsylvania County's 2005 bond referendum transportation projects moving slowly Date published: 1/4/2009
By DAN TELVOCK The road-building business has not been a smooth one for the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. A 2005 bond referendum asked voters if the county should borrow up to $144 million to improve all or a portion of more than 18 roads and build a Virginia Railway Express station. The voters approved the bonds, but there has been very little new pavement laid, and there is no VRE station. Spotsylvania officials recently informed nearly 7,000 households by letter that the first phase of projects has been delayed because of problems with environmental permits, acquiring private property necessary to make the improvements, and relocating utilities. Work once dominated by the Virginia Department of Transportation is now being undertaken by local governments in partnership with the private sector. What they are quickly learning is that it's not easy. "I guess we went through a learning curve," said Rebecca Golden, Spotsylvania's director of capital projects management. Since the 2005 bond referendum, the county has built one new elementary school, Patriot Park, and an addition to Salem Church Library is expected to be finished early this year. Three new fire stations have been built with bond money from a 2001 referendum. But the road projects have been slow going. Golden said one key difference is that the county has to acquire private property to start the road projects. She said it is difficult to predict when private property needed for a road project can be acquired. In October 2007, the Board of Supervisors approved a two-phase plan with a private firm, Spotsylvania County Infrastructure, to design and improve nine of the roads listed on the referendum. Most of the first phase is intersection improvements, which Golden said are a high priority based on what residents said at community meetings and on the costs. "They are high-accident locations, so it will make them safer and much less congested and more efficient," Golden said. Dan Kelch, who lives on Harvest Lane, said the intersection improvements at Gordon and Chancellor roads are necessary because of gridlock during rush hour.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 1/4/2009
Be thankful he didn't get into it with TC.
Onto Gordon Rd from Rte 3? turn left on Salem Church and come in from Harrison Rd. Its cheaper to educate drivers than it is to cater to them.
Vakos, Silver and Fried (Spotsy Pkwy) owned the property and had little, if any, utility relocation issues - the two biggest hurdles to road construction. Spotsy is doing the best that it can in a messy and sometimes schizo transportation system created by the ideological and partisan fight in Richmond. Until that is resolved, not much will change and localities will have to keep trying to find solutions and voters will have to come to terms with the fact that they will have to pay for them.
I would assume your answer is that in the projeccts worked on by Vakos and Silver, the propery had already been obtained. Plus I would bet the factors mentioned in this story didn't come into play.
I'd agree to a state level gas tax - if I knew how much and
exactly what projects in Spotsylvania it would pay for and
in what timeframe.
Any advocacy for a state gas tax increase without knowing
how it would benefit Spotsylvania is a no go for me.
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