Fresh off Gov. Bob McDonnell’s legislative victory on transportation, a report released Tuesday shows that his $4 billion plan would expand Virginia’s economy by $13 billion and add more than 100,000 jobs over the next six years if the plan is fully implemented.
The report prepared for the state by the consulting firm Chmura Economics and Analytics says that $7.2 billion of the estimated impact would come from construction spending and $5.9 billion from “ripple effects” such as site preparation, truck transportation and jobs in consumer service-related industries during the construction period.
The estimated impact in Northern Virginia totals about $2.3 billion and would generate nearly 17,000 jobs between 2012 and 2017.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has released a list of about 900 projects, which includes support for the I-495 HOT Lanes project and Route 50 widening in Fairfax County, for example, that could stand to benefit from the plan, about $3 billion of which comes from borrowing.
It ended up clearing both the Virginia House and Senate on the final day of the 2011 General Assembly regular session, despite concerns from some lawmakers about its reliance on debt.
