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Virginia Department of Transportation announces layoffs, plans to close rest areas, limit mowing Date published: 2/20/2009
By KELLY HANNON The Virginia Department of Transportation recommends closing 25 rest areas, reducing ferry service, and cutting back on mowing and interstate maintenance to help make up for a $2.6 billion drop in funding over the next six years. Also, VDOT announced yesterday that it will lay off 450 wage and hourly workers over the next two months, and the agency plans to reduce staff by another 1,000 full-time positions over the next 18 months. VDOT Commissioner David Ekern said the combined layoffs and restructuring was unprecedented. "We will have to adjust our employment levels. That's a hard reality," Ekern said. Drivers may have to wait until the next interstate exit to use the restroom starting in July. That's when rest area closings would take effect. In addition, VDOT safety service patrols that help disabled vehicles on Interstate 95 would operate less frequently if the recommendations are accepted. And grass in the medians may grow unchecked. "You will see us mowing less frequently," Ekern said. "You will see, obviously, our rest areas will be closed." The Virginia Welcome Center on I-95 south at Fredericksburg would remain open because it has an "economic benefit" to tourism in the state. The refurbished center opened in late 2007. But Ekern recommended to the Commonwealth Transportation Board that the state could see cost savings by closing two nearby rest areas, at Dale City and Ladysmith. Both rest areas were chosen because they are near other commercial areas. Reacting to the news, Caroline County Administrator Percy Ashcraft said closing the rest areas near Ladysmith will cost the county's utility system about $55,000 in water and sewer fees. "That is like losing a business in Caroline County, and we hate to see that happening," Ashcraft said last night. The 450 hourly and salaried workers have not been told yet that they are losing their jobs, Ekern said. They will be notified individually over the next two weeks during meetings with human resources managers. No information was available yesterday on how many jobs will be lost in each region of the state.
Lease the rest stops to private industry and let the sell stuff
and use some of their profits to operate the bathrooms, etc.
for the rest area to be closing .. people are going to lose jobs because ot it.
how bout they use work details from local prisons to cut the grass on the highways..tax money goes pays for there 3 hots and a cott. they need to pay the public back in labor..
IF VDOT outsources 50% of the work then why did the staff level only drop from 10000 to only 8,300? Stafford has over 550 miles of secondary roads and only receives about $3M for maintenance. To upgrade 1 mile of Staffords roads to VDOTs current standards is about $1M.
First thing they cut is things people need or notice (bathrooms). Lease the rest areas to private industry who can make money selling products (ala Jersey Turnpike). Use the profits to mow the grass. Problem solved.
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