Highway money meant for Hampton Roads heads north

What is Hampton Roads' fair share of Virginia's interstate highway dollars? How about 21 percent, our share of the state population? Or 15 percent, the portion of interstate miles running through the region?

Did anyone guess 2 percent? Fairness aside, that's the region's actual share of interstate funds this year. Here's another number: 0 percent. That's what Hampton Roads will get next year.

The reality that Virginia's second-most congested region is so shortchanged should have folks across the state scratching their heads. Those of us who fight through the region's monstrous traffic jams to work, worship and pick up the kids have a right to be apoplectic.

An analysis by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization lays out the grim facts. The study covered state funding from 2004 to this year, as well as future plans by the Virginia Department of Transportation for divvying up road dollars through 2015. Over the 12-year period, Hampton Roads' share is 17 percent, while Northern Virginia gets 58 percent, but those aggregate numbers mask what's happening right now.

Interstate funds for Hampton Roads dropped from $32 million last year to $6 million this year and will disappear entirely in mid-2010. Projects to improve the I-264/I-64 interchange and widen I-64 on the Peninsula and in Chesapeake are losing dollars or being erased from VDOT's six-year plan.

Northern Virginia has a larger population, and it faces unquestionable transportation challenges. But it's still startling to see that 81 percent of the state's interstate budget is heading north this year, and 90 percent will make the same trip next year. Indeed, Northern Virginia is scheduled to receive about $200 million annually for six straight years under VDOT's plan, from 2007 through 2012. In contrast, it will take Hampton Roads the full six years to collect $203 million.

The situation is less dire but still disturbing when all transportation funds, not just interstate dollars, are considered. Hampton Roads will get 11 percent, or $111 million, compared to 32 percent for Northern Virginia, or $335 million. The disparity is less severe because funding formulas ensure a more even distribution of money for roads other than interstates.

But interstates are the backbone of Hampton Roads. They are the primary path to work for thousands of commuters each day. They will be the primary path to safety if a hurricane strikes. There simply aren't any alternative routes.

Hampton Roads was falling behind on interstate investment before the recession hit, and now the trickle of dollars into the region is drying up. The lack of stable and adequate revenues year after year means we'll stay behind well into the future. Without precious dollars for the unglamorous but necessary engineering and right-of-way purchases, no project will gain enough traction to become a reality.

It's frustrating to see that the presentation on interstate funding was made to the planning organization the day before VDOT's plan was adopted, too late to make the case for a fairer distribution of dollars.

But there will be future opportunities to make that case, and Hampton Roads' leaders must make a commitment now to be more assertive and savvy advocates for the region they represent.

Tomorrow Is Hampton Roads the victim of a diabolical plan or the region's own ineptitude?