A Northern Virginia lawmaker has ramped up his attack on proposed high-occupancy toll lanes by introducing a three-pronged legislative assault on the divisive toll lane project planned for Interstates 95 and 395.
“We’re concerned that the HOT lanes proposal will not solve the regional transportation problem and will cause harm to our community,” said Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria.
Virginia has partnered with two private companies on a billion-dollar project to construct HOT lanes — stretching from the Pentagon to Spotsylvania County — in an effort to relieve congested I-95 and I-395 in Northern Virginia.
HOT lanes are free to carpoolers or buses, but others must pay a toll if they want to use the lanes.
Englin argues the state’s plan was not properly vetted and could divert frustrated drivers into surrounding neighborhoods in an attempt to evade backups. He has introduced three bills intended to hinder the project — originally scheduled to begin in the summer.
One bill would require that all public-private transportation projects more than $100 million be approved by the General Assembly.
“Right now the [Virginia] secretary of transportation has the power — with basically no legislative oversight — to give away hundreds of millions of dollars of the people’s resources to a private corporation,” Englin said.
Virginia’s embrace of public-private partnerships has been praised by the White House and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Arlington County filed a lawsuit against the state last summer, saying that a proper environmental impact review of the lanes had not been conducted.
But while Englin and Arlington County officials have worked to forestall construction, some say that slowing things down will cost Virginia taxpayers.
“I think the HOT lanes project is the best opportunity that residents of this region have to get some real traffic relief in the I-95 corridor,” said Bob Chase, president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, a business-supported group that lobbies for transportation funding.
“The longer you delay these projects, the more they cost,” Chase said.
Englin said he favors exploring more environmentally friendly options, such as bus rapid transit.
But Chase called that a “bogus argument,” contending that new HOT lanes would create a corridor for buses.
Englin says he just wants to ensure the state is making a good decision.
“It could be that the right solution is HOT lanes,” he said. “But whatever we do needs to be based on thoughtful, rational analysis of all options.”
