Two Fairfax County delegates plan to introduce legislation they say would pump millions into transportation improvements in Northern Virginia.
Virginia Dels. Tom Rust and Dave Albo say they’re finalizing a bill that would raise a sustainable fund of $400 million each year for transit and road upgrades through increased local vehicle registration and construction impact fees.
Rust, who represents a district including Herndon and Oak Hill, said the money would be raised and kept in Northern Virginia. The bill is a request to the state legislature, he said, to “allow us to solve our own problems.”
The first $50 million of the funds would go to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the next $30 million to the Virginia Railway Express for capital projects, Albo said. He said that 45 percent of the revenues would be dedicated to road construction and improvements in Northern Virginia.
“No one touches our money, period,” Albo said.
The proposal is the latest attempt to solve a mounting traffic crisis in Northern Virginia that many worry could prompt a business and workforce exodus and topple the region as an economic leader.
“It’s not going to be an easy sell,” said Del. Vince Callahan of the proposal. The bill could face a tough time in the divided state legislature, which earlier this year passed its budget after the longest deadlock in commonwealth history.
Rust detailed the plan at a meeting of local business and civic groups in Reston organized by the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance. The organizations called on the General Assembly to approve new transportation funding, but did not endorse any specific legislation.
The assembly will meet later this month to try to resolve an ongoing dispute on transportation funding.
