Millions of federal dollars that Fairfax County leaders have targeted for road improvements around military installations that are slated to expand next year are in jeopardy.
The Washington Examiner has learned that $150 million, which Rep. Jim Moran has for months touted as “secured” for local road improvement projects, could go away.
“I think that it’s unlikely that [this money] would be used for any other purpose, but I’ve learned not to wholly count on something until it happens,” said Moran, D-Va. “When you’re dealing with the legislative process, it’s a pretty bumpy road.”
The cash in question is part of a U.S. Department of Defense appropriation for 2010 infrastructure projects. If not spent by the latter half of this year, other members of Congress could try to snatch the funds away.
“It’s not a done deal,” said County Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee. “That $150 million has to be immediately [spent] or it could be used for some other federal project.”
Next year more than 20,000 new commuters are expected to flood Fairfax’s already bloated rush-hour roadways as a result of the army’s planned Base Realignment and Closure program.
The County Board of Supervisors recently took an important step to secure the federal dollars when it pulled in the Federal Highway Administration to help oversee the BRAC-related projects.
“Our hope is that by partnering with the Federal Highway Administration they’ll help us protect that money,” McKay said.
The county and the FHA together will conduct environmental safety studies, which federal law requires before planned construction projects can move forward.
Board Chairwoman Sharon Bulova said she wasn’t concerned that Fairfax might lose the $150 million, but she said the county did have to take action to lock up the cash.
“We’re taking the steps we need to take on the county side to secure the funding,” Bulova said.
Moran stressed that Department of Defense officials understand the importance of the BRAC-related improvements, and said he is confidant the $150 million will ultimately end up in Fairfax.
“They don’t want their employees sitting in rush-hour traffic for two hours any more than we do,” Moran said.
McKay said he feels better about the money now that the county has partnered with the Federal Highway Administration, but he’s still dreading the traffic problems coming to Fairfax in 2011.
“It’s going to be traffic Armageddon from day one,” McKay said.
