Of the $11.2 billion Virginia plans to spend on transportation projects over the next six years, $2.3 billion will be used for projects other than roads, the chief concern of Northern Virginia drivers. The state listed 587 projects for Northern Virginia in its draft six-year program that would cost about $8 billion — $7 billion of which would be used to build, expand or rehabilitate the region’s traffic-clogged roadways.
The rest of the money, however, is for items like public transportation, sidewalks, bike trails, bus shelters — and wildflowers.
Proponents of nonroad improvements argue that those projects do play a role in relieving the region’s traffic congestion by providing easier access to buses and other alternatives that would get people out of their cars.
Source: Virginia Department of Transportation
| Line-item estimates: Northern Virginia | |
| Item | |
| Amount | |
| Roads | $7.1 billion |
| Wildflower management | $258,000 |
| Pedestrian/bike/trail work | $68.8 million |
“We know how expensive the land acquisition is to expand some of these roads,” said Arlington County Board Vice Chairwoman Mary Hynes. “I think this is a regional understanding that we’ve got to have multiple paths” to congestion relief.
Others, though, want some of that money redirected to pay for actual roads.
Del. Jim LeMunyon, R-Fairfax, proposed shifting some of money set aside for bike-sharing programs to projects he argues would do more to reduce congestion, such as widening Interstate 66 and building a ramp from I-66 to East Falls Church Metro to encourage Metro use.
The projects listed in the six-year plan would be funded with local, state and federal funds. The projects are in various stages of design and construction, and include some work that was completed but which the state is still paying off.
“The transit/pedestrian improvements are still a very small share of the six-year program,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, who chairs the county’s transportation committee. “No matter how much money we have in our road program, we’re not going to build our way out of our … problems.”
But Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton said that not all of the road projects will include fixing bridges or adding more highway lanes, including the $80 million ramp planned for I-395 near the Mark Center offices in Alexandria. It’s technically a “road” project, but was actually designed for public transit and car pooling, he said.
There is also about $1.4 billion that has been slated for public-private transportation projects, such as the proposed high-occupancy toll lanes along Interstate 95 from Fairfax to Stafford County.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board is scheduled to formally approve the fiscal 2012-2017 six-year improvement program later this month.
