Attorney General McDonnell calls for external audit of VDOT

I'd guess the AG should know about the eight audits since 2000 since he has been in Richmond all those years... Since he called for a new taxpayer funded audit, it seems he is willing to waste even more tax money instead of addressing the roads issues we face. Frankly it seems the AG is just trying to buy time for his run to Gov... Shame on him.

VDOT has had 8 audits since 2000, why another now at the eleventh hour? McD is just stalling so nothing gets resolved again this session, which places VA further and futher behind.

always nice to hear from the Commonwealths online excusemeister....

The south bound exit of the MMBT is leaking bay water thru the pavement and the pot holes are getting bigger and is not freindly to a lot of the vehicle traffic front end alignments. Its been like that for several months and I've seen no attempts to repair by VDOT.
Let's do an audit to find out.

What convenient timing by our stellar Attorney General to call for an audit! What didn't he just honestly say that this is political posturing and I am planning to run for governor? Is he to believe that the public cannot see the motive behind this move? He will fit in well with the rest of the useless policitians who run this state.

Well, calling for an audit on the eve of a special session to address the most important strategic issue facing this Commonwealth is clearly a denial of the real problem. I think we should have an audit of McDonnell's public relations apparatus which apparently exceeds that for his legal staff. But assertions aside, chiding VDOT is so out of date. The agency has gotten much smaller, it outsources most maintenance, it is now engaged in land use/transportation planning, and it leads the nation in innovative PPTA's. So while an audit can and should be done on a regular basis, our strategic problem with transportation has nothing to do with VDOT and much to do with a House of Delegates that has adopted a policy of denial, delay, and obfuscation. Their intrasigence has cost this Commonwealth billions of dollars because the cost of needed projects just keep rising while they call for audits and financial reviews. McDonnell has clearly decided to be a republican first and always; the Commonwealth be damned.

An external audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation is long overdue. Let's open up those books and see just how efficient this state agency is with our tax dollars. The road projects constructed in the Commonwealth need to be more open to the competitive bid process. Naturally, this will bring in the private sector where cost savings and potential expedited construction time can be realized.

...will sound like this. VDOT has mismanaged money. Numerous projects are over budget because of poor management and oversight. The agency is burdened by ineffective and under qualified workers sinking in sea of red tape. Projects are over budget and behind schedule because low bidders are awarded jobs knowing full well they will seek every change order possible, and there are no rewards or penalties for finishing early or late. If a contractor messes up, they are fined, but are also paid to fix the problem (remember the paving problem on 64 in Hampton, the contractor was fined $400k for constructiong the wrong cross-slope, and paid $2.2mil to fix the problem).

What an incredible shame that one of our own, Attorney General Bob McDonnell, has not stepped up to the plate to acknowledge what a majority of citizens from throughout the Commonwealth have said; our state has a transportation crisis, it is getting worse, and we know that we must pay higher taxes, fees, and tolls to solve this problem.
You would think that a statewide office holder who aspires to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth would accede to that which is known not only by the members of every major business association in Hampton Roads, by the CEO’s of most major corporations in the Commonwealth, but by almost every citizen in this state. To continue to talk about the past yet refuse to confront the present and the future is not what I would have expected from a statewide elected official, especially one who aspires to be Governor. That said, if he will not fulfill a leader

to me. I'd like to know where all the $$'s are going & what we're getting for them. I think it's pretty sound thinking. I for one would like to see some belt tightening before just handing over more of my $$'s. You've got to get as much bang for the buck as you can. The economy is down & the more you take from me, the less I have to put back into it. I know I put a lot more thought into what I spend on now & I think the GA should be doing the same.