The state’s slashing of road projects has some Fairfax County supervisors up in arms.
Officials in the Lee and Mount Vernon districts argue the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s belt-tightening has damaged efforts to prepare roads in anticipation of the 21,000 new military employees on the way. The relocation stems from the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendation.
Plans to widen parts of Route 1 and Telegraph Road have been dropped from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s six-year improvement program.
“If that doesn’t enrage people, I don’t know what the hell else would,” said Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman.
Expansions to two sections of Telegraph Road were among those indefinitely delayed by the transportation board last week, and the widening of Route 1 north and south of Buckman Road was cut in 2002, said VDOT spokeswoman Joan Morris.
“Those cuts are absolutely devastating for us, particularly as we try to accommodate the incredible influx of personnel to Fort Belvoir,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald Hyland. “Those improvements … are essential if we’re going to make the BRAC changes work in the southern part of Fairfax County.”
The cuts stem from slowly growing revenues, significantly increased costs and expanding maintenance needs, according to VDOT. The six-year plan this year allocates $6.9 billion over six years to improvement projects, compared with $7 billion approved last year.
Va. six-year road plan
The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the six-year improvement program on June 15, cutting major roadway construction funding by $318 million, subdivision and rural road funding by $238.5 million, and urban road funding by $238.5 million.
