Warren Fiske
The Virginian-Pilot
©
SUFFOLK
Regional lawmakers backed expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel on Thursday but acknowledged they have no plan to pay for it or billions of dollars worth of other transportation improvement.
The commitment to enlarge the tunnel could be a step toward uniting fractious legislators on both sides of the Elizabeth River as they try to reach a road funding compromise, some legislators said.
Including the HRBT in any new transportation plan was the one consensus among many of the more than three dozen legislators and local political leaders who met in a four-hour transportation summit at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center.
Lawmakers are seeking a plan to pay for billions of dollars in regional and state road needs before Gov. Timothy M. Kaine convenes the General Assembly for a special session on transportation in late May or June.
Hampton Roads legislators, who remain split on how to raise money for roads, may meet again before the special session.
“We have not talked about the critical issue – funding, which is the big elephant in the room,” said Del. Kenneth Alexander, D-Norfolk. “What tax, or what fee, or what revenue are we willing to support as a Hampton Roads delegation?”
Expanding the HRBT had been a source of conflict among legislators, with Peninsula lawmakers insisting on the project and some South Hampton Roads representatives cool to the idea.
That project “in some way, shape, or fashion must be part of this transportation system,” said Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, who presided at the meeting.
Adding two lanes to the tunnel could cost as much as $2 billion.
Still to be resolved is whether the tunnel expansion will be added to a list of six projects costing about $9 billion already deemed top priorities by local leaders, or substituted for one of the six.
The list has been defined in the last decade by officials with the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group of local government representatives that oversees transportation planning.
Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, who is chairman of the MPO, said the organization has always considered expanding the tunnel worthwhile but the other six projects are a higher priority.
The HRBT was left off the project list because of financial concerns, Fraim said. “It’s all a question of money.”
Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News, later said he was disappointed by Fraim’s response.
“This is critical to a regional transportation plan,” he said.
Miller said he would not mind if another project was dropped to free money for the tunnel. Fraim opposed that idea.
New taxes and fees authorized in Hampton Roads by the General Assembly last year were intended to raise $166 million annually toward the six projects. Two appointed transportation authorities – one in Hampton Roads and one in Northern Virginia – were to collect and spend the taxes and fees collected in their respective regions. But the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in February that the plan wasn’t legal because unelected officials don’t have taxing powers.
Legislators also must wrestle with the question of plugging a growing deficit in the state maintenance fund.
Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer told lawmakers Thursday that the deficit forces the state to take money for new construction and spend it on mandated road repairs.
“That is a major factor in our declining highway construction program,” he said, adding that maintenance costs are projected to engulf construction dollars around 2017.
“The Hampton Roads region today is losing about $53 million dollars that otherwise would be available to construction if we were properly funding our construction,” said Homer, noting that in six years money lost will balloon to $119 million.
Cosgrove said lawmakers are working to assemble the “pieces of the transportation puzzle today … we’re not going to make the picture today.”
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
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Regional Transportation Needs
There's an old adage that if you want to know where to build a sidewalk, look for the worn pathways in the grass. Whoever came up with the Third Crossing plan wasn't applying that common sense.
The area's population growth has made our highway system woefully inadequate for timely and efficient emergency evacuation. Sending Norfolk and Virginia Beach residents on a long detour through the M-M tunnel just to arrive at the same point on I-64 is not the answer. Adding another HRBT tube may be costly, but it's the shortest way to get people where they obviously want to go.
The High-Rise Bridge is another bottleneck for evacuating traffic that must be addressed with high priority. Increasing the capacities of Routes 460 and 58 will count for nothing if that bridge remains the choke point.
As for how to pay for these needs:
1) Don't rely on tolls -- they're inefficient, arbitrary, and annoying, and people will waste more gas trying to avoid them.
2) Don't rely on property or real estate taxes -- what does the price of a home have to do with our use of or need for roads?
3) Don't rely on increasing the sales tax -- that takes money from people who can least afford it.
Mr. Barrett said...
"That's the way systems used to be designed; that is, those with the most political clought got to build it their way, no matter what the science said." Now what part of politics am I missing here. This is ALL about politics and he knows it. What is even more interesting is he stated that expansion of the HRBT should be a much lower priority than the other projects if not completely discounted altogether. Wow, the only project that actually does SOMETHING to relieve commuter traffic congestion IS the HRBT expansion. Isn't commuter traffic congestion relief what we are being sold in order to RAISE taxes? Honestly, this northern transplant thinks that he can fool us like he did his gridlocked yankees.
Today's article on local wages.
When you compare this area with Richmond, their average pay in 2006 was 14 percent higher than HR's latest numbers. High tech wages, like computers, was nearly double. 90 miles sure makes a lot of difference. Their housing prices are much less and they aren't facing a huge tax increase for third crossings.
Want new voices?
The MPO/HRPDC/LMNOP are just the "Mayors and Chairs" of the localities. They are up for election in May (and in Nov. for VA Beach). If you want these organizations to change, then don't re-elect anyone to city councils or county commissions who voted for joining HRTA.
Here in Chesapeake, I'll be voting for Dr. Krasnoff for Mayor as he, along with Councilman De Triquet and Mayor Edge voted against accepting the unconstitutional HRTA. I'll be voting AGAINST all the other incumbents who voted for it.
If we all do the same, it will send a message that the members of the MPO need to listen to the citizens and not the special interests.
Same Voice
The MPO. The HRPDC. The HRTA. The same politicians singing the same song. The song developers want. When can we get a different voice that cares about citizens instead of developers?
The Port Gravy Train
Mr Barret seems to counter Doc Tabor we he posts "you express an opinion counter to what the majority of our citizens want; that is, a comprehensive system of roads, bridges, tunnels, and public transit so we can get around our area and into and out of Hampton Roads." I don't think that Doc Tabor or any of the rest of us want gridlock, chaos, and bottlenecks on the roads. The fact is that the MPO/HRPDC/Partnership is selling the taxpayers of Tidewater a bogus plan of goods. I believe the people of Tidewater will pay taxes and tolls if the road plan was to alleviate their daily commutes to work, to and from the peninsula, and from the shipyards. The HRBT needs to be expanded. Paul Fraim needs to be spanked by the GA and put in his place if he keeps up his arrogant attitude. Also it is also of no relevance that VA pays less in state and gas taxes. We don't live in other states and don't care what other states pay for anything. England pays about L1.08 per liter which works out to about $8.20 a gallon. But we don't live in England so who cares.
MPO
Looks like the Feds have recently reviewed the MPO. I was looking at the HRPDC site and found the report by:
1. Going to HRPDC website (HRPDC.org)
2. “Click” on Transportation
3. Highlight Metro Planning Org.
4. “Click” on Quadrennial
Sorry - been busy today - no time to post
Interesting discussion. Sorry i was too busy to join in.
I see Mr. Barrett still attempts to share incorrect information in hopes that he might fool people. Mike, when will you realize that the public isn't as uninformed as you and your Hampton Roads Partnership pals believe we are?
You lost in 2002. Your lost in 2008. We told you HB 3202 was unconstitutional. You did not listen. We sued. We won.
Now, finally, the HRBT will be expanded. Your "plan" was flawed. But you can't admit that.
The MPO and other elaborate charade of non-elected regional government has revealed their true motivations. The MPO "6 projects" aren't intended to solve the commuter traffic congestion problems the folks that live here suffer with; it is a plan for speculative economic development; mostly port expansion tied into more development to the west. Because so many of us fouhgt YOUR plan Mike, finally we will have a new plan. That is good news for Tidewater!
Regional Consensus Building
Charles makes a good point below. I found the following report from the about the MPO talking about regional consensus building in Hampton Roads.
http://www.hrpdc.org/Documents/Transportation/2008/Final%20Hampton%20Roads%20Cert.%20ReportCombined.pdf
oops
Fourth, if it means raising someone's taxes, so that the people pay, and he and his cronies make a free profit, Mike_B is probably for it.