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By Kelly Hannon

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Rest Area Update

July 21, 2009 2:19 pm

Virginia's 18 closed rest areas may not be closed for long.

Both candidates for governor in 2009, Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds, have pledged to re-open the rest areas if elected.

McDonnell pledges to re-open all closed rest areas within 90 days of becoming governor. He'd like the Commonwealth Transportation Board to reprioritize budget decisions to find $9 million a year to keep all rest areas open. He says he thinks Congress could still be persuaded to allow Virginia to commercialize rest areas. McDonnell also suggests state residents or businesses should be allowed to "Adopt a Rest Stop," and says he will work with the Virginia Business Council to ask for assistance to keep the rest areas open in the short-term. You can read McDonnell's entire statement on rest areas here.

Deeds pledges to re-open all closed rest areas within 60 days of becoming governor. In a blog post on his campaign website, Deeds says he has spoken with Gov. Tim Kaine and several members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board to express his frustration at the decision to close rest areas. Deeds thinks there may be a way to commercialize rest areas, and writes that the state should consider innovative approaches.

Also, AAA Mid-Atlantic just issued a statement that is headed: "Point Made - Now Reopen the Rest Areas." The travel agency is asking Gov. Kaine to find $9 million and open the rest areas, citing the risk of fatality or injury caused by drowsy and tired drivers.

"The shuttering of 18 rest areas along Virginia's interstates overnight marks a new low point in Virginia's transportation budget wars," wrote Mahlon G. "Lon" Anderson, director of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "We always knew that Virginia lawmakers' budget fued and failure to fund transportation, even after being called into special session in 2008 and not appropriating an additional dime, would put motorists in their crosshairs. Today, they hit their mark."

Read the full AAA statement here.

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Kelly Hannon is the transportation reporter for The Free Lance-Star.

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Kelly Hannon writes about traffic and transportation in the Fredericksburg area.