Northern Virginia faces a shortfall in transportation dollars, officials say, even with the passage of a massive roads and transit funding bill that would set aside millions of dollars each year.
There is little consensus on the size of the deficit, however, or the extent to which the first large-scale transportation funding bill in more than two decades would alleviate the backlog year in projects deemed necessary for the region. Also in dispute is the cost of those improvements.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority estimates about $664 million a year will be needed in roadway, rail and other improvements through 2030. Other estimates put the yearly price tag much higher.
“[$664 million] is a realistic number in what it describes, these are identified capacity needs,” said Del. Vivian Watts, D-Annandale, a former state transportation secretary. “But it’s notthe whole ballgame. The real number is close to $1 billion a year, because you have all these ongoing costs of improvements that are needed for maximum function of our existing infrastructure.”
The NVTA also is charged with raising and spending the nearly $400 million in local fees and taxes authorized by the transportation bill, which was approved earlier this year and also supplies $200 million to Northern Virginia in state funds.
Mounting maintenance costs for an aging road system, however, threaten to reduce the commonwealth’s contribution for new construction, officials say.
Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance director Bob Chase said out of the $400 million, only about $120 million can be counted on now for regional roads, with portions paid out to Metro and Virginia Railway Express and uncertainly over whether local governments will agree to all the proposed fees.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last week voted to put on the November ballot whether to issue $110 million in transportation bonds, an indication that local officials don’t expect the bill to be a cure-all.
“The regional package doesn’t eliminate the need for local bonds,” Chase said. “I think it needs to be looked at as a supplemental.”
Del. Tom Rust, R-Herndon, a supporter of the transportation bill, said the regional shortfall of only about $50 to $100 million per year, assuming the localities pass the fees. He countered assertions than an insurmountable backlog of projects exists.
“It’s not as if no money has been spent [in the past 20 years],” he said. “Certainly insufficient funds have been spent.”
