Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) voted to reopen 19 highway rest stops closed by former Gov. Tim Kaine by April 17th. The four shuttered way stations in heavily traveled Northern Virginia – located on Interstate 66/Manassas (eastbound and westbound) and I-95/Dale City (northbound and southbound) will reopen a month earlier, on March 17th.
The Kaine administration closed the rest stops to shave $9 million from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Six- Year Improvement Program, which is still $4.6 billion short. Gov. Bob McDonnell, who promised he would reopen them during his campaign, said he would use inmate labor and private donations to keep them open to motorists.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance reports that “the $3 million required to reopen and operate these facilities for the balance of FY 2010 (which ends June 30th) will come from VDOT reserve funds.” But legislators will have to find $7 million to keep them open after that.
