In releasing his plan for Virginia’s roads Monday, Gov. Bob McDonnell boasted that it had bipartisan support. What it doesn’t have is support from Northern Virginia. McDonnell’s proposal relies on using about $3 billion in borrowed money for about 900 projects around the state, including widening part of Interstate 66, building high-occupancy vehicle and toll lanes on I-95 and I-395, and improvements to Route 29 and Gallows Road, projects that fell behind schedule because of dwindling state funding. Of the 17 senators sponsoring McDonnell’s plan, however, only two — Chuck Colgan, D-Prince William, and Ed Houck, D-Spotsylvania — hail from anywhere near Northern Virginia.
McDonnell’s office is still building support on the House side, and Del. Jim LeMunyon, R-Loudoun, expects lawmakers to at least consider the initiative.
“People are asking questions, as we should, and there’s not going to be 100 percent agreement on every last detail. But if it’s 90 percent, we should move forward,” LeMunyon said.
Fairfax County Chairman Sharon Bulova, however, is among those disappointed in the governor’s proposal.
“You have to give [McDonnell] credit for doing something to restore the planned projects that have been in limbo,” Bulova said. “But I think the bottom line is that the proposal does not really provide adequate funding or a strategy that would allow us to infuse new money into transportation.”
Fairfax officials support raising the state sales tax to provide additional funding for roads, but such an increase is unlikely to pass the General Assembly.
Northern Virginia officials also complained that McDonnell’s plan doesn’t do enough for the heavily congested region. Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee, said only 23 percent of McDonnell’s proposed projects would affect the region.
“I’ve heard many times — and the governor has said it — that Northern Virginia represents 40 percent of the revenue coming into the state of Virginia. Then, we should make up at least 40 percent of the expenditures on transportation,” McKay said.
A spokesman for McDonnell insists support for the plan is strong among Northern Virginia’s business community, including Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington. And while the governor has opposed tax increases, he did propose shifting a fraction of existing sales tax revenue to fund some of Northern Virginia’s transportation needs.
