The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Several Republican legislators are calling for an independent study of the July 2 flooding of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which crippled traffic throughout the region.
Del. Phillip Hamilton of Newport News said Tuesday that he isn't confident an investigation by state transportation officials is enough to fully examine the incident.
So, along with fellow Newport News Republican Del. Glenn Oder, Hamilton is calling for an inquiry by a legislative panel that focuses on transportation issues.
"This is something that should be done," said Hamilton, who has been a vocal critic of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
That request has the backing of several GOP legislators, including House of Delegates Speaker William Howell, and perhaps most importantly, Del. Joe May, a Northern Virginia Republican who chairs the Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability.
May said he plans to ask Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer to appear before the commission at its Aug. 18 meeting.
"This is one of those topics that is of sufficient importance that it shouldn't go unexamined," May said, adding that he worries that "if we had a major hurricane, we could find people afloat."
Depending on what legislators are told at that session, May said he might ask the state's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission staff to launch its own inquiry into conditions at the 52-year-old structure.
Homer declined to comment Tuesday.
Last week, state transportation officials said a water main break caused millions of gallons of water to leak underneath the tunnel roadway for several hours before it finally spilled onto the road and was detected.
During a public meeting Friday in Chesapeake, VDOT representatives said initial repairs had been made. They also pledged to finish a detailed public investigation in the coming weeks.
Despite that commitment, some legislators think HRBT is such a critical thoroughfare it needs outside inspection.
"Given the impact it had on the community, a second set of eyes looking at this is a good idea," said state Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach. "Let's go through the tunnel, figure out what's wrong with it, figure out what it costs to repair it and then figure out how we're going to do that."
Homer has said that the problem is not a shortage of money for tunnel maintenance.
But any conversation about state transportation needs ultimately circles back to the inability of state lawmakers to agree on how to raise money to fix old roads, bridges and tunnels and build news ones. That impasse has festered in the General Assembly for much of this decade. It remains a sore subject between Democrats and Republicans.
"I'm not at all interested in placing blame. That's not where my head is. My head is to do something to make it better," said state Sen. Yvonne Miller, D-Norfolk.
Miller, the Hampton Roads member of the transportation accountability panel, declined to take a position on whether another inquiry is warranted but warned against taking action that distracts VDOT from its core mission.
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Not so fast!
I didn't just roll over and buy the farm. I said I would be open to the idea provided that I agreed with what these taxes and fees would be spent on. At this point I don't think it is necessary to raise the gas taxes and fees. I WILL OPPOSE new taxes, including gas taxes and fees for light rail and especially the proposed third crossing from I-564 to the MMBT for the port.
Some common ground
Well good, that's a start; we will need to pay higher gas taxes, and other taxes and fees as well, if we are to reverse the decade of deterioration of our transportation system. I do hold out great hope that light rail will be extended to through the Beach, and eventually, to other parts of Hampton Roads including the airport, ODU, the Naval Base, and perhaps to Greenbrier and Portsmouth, all of which are employment centers and could stand to have more vertical development, which I think is necessary to create sustainable communities in the energy constrained environment that faces us in the future. Of course for me, this is like going home again as I grew up in a city 36 miles outside of NYC and had access to rail service into New York, which opened up the incredible assets of a large city to a kid who lived in the suburbs. The richness of that experience is largely denied to those who grew up in today's mindless repition of single family homes and strip malls.
Spendthrift?..Parish the thought sir.
Well Mike, I am not a spendthrift. I would use the term spendthrift for the city of Virginia Beach and Norfolk with respect to light rail, as well as organizations like HR Transit. I think the state should stop contributing state funds to art and convention centers and those type of Taj Mahals. They already blew 20 million on the abandoned rail line that will only benefit a very few at the expense of the rest of us. I would be more open to the idea of a higher gas tax, provided it went to projects that REALLY reduce traffic congestion. HRBT is one I would support, but that idiot Paul Fraim doesn't want to touch it. In my view the MPO projects don't do anything to relieve traffic congestion. Just because they (MPO) changed their name doesn't mean their ideas aren't still flawed. I believe the money is there, but it has been misdirected to the wrong places. Besides, there is no guarantee that any new taxes, tolls, or fees would exclusively go to road maintenance and repairs.
Which is it?
Keith, if you think your tax bills for transportation are too high now, how high do you think they will be because of the decade of neglect, decay, and deterioration? That is, if you are really a fiscal conservative, as you appear to be from your posts, how can you stand by and let your Delegates, who claim the mantel of fiscal conservatism, refuse to take the actions necessary to preserve and protect our investment in transportation infrastructure? Frankly, if you really are a fiscal conservative, you, more than anyone, ought to be decrying the failure to protect our investment, inaction that will cost future taxpayers billions of extra dollars to repair and replace damaged, rotting, and decaying roads, bridges, and transit systems. So which is it, Keith? Are you really just a spendthrift pretending to be a fiscal conservative, or do you just really not care one wit about the quality of our transportation infrastructure.
KOOL AIDE!
Holly Cow Batman, what a goof! Let me give you some VDOT waste. They are paving a section of Courthouse Hwy in Isle of Wight County, from a mile South of Foursquare Rd to the Courthouse. The road does not need paving, but guess what they are doing it anyway. They paved a part of Route 10, from Burrowsville in Prince George County to the Surry County Line, guess what it did not need it. They did it anyway. They are doing a 1.4 million improvement to the Surry side of the Jamestown/Scotland Ferry, which was for, get this, Jamestown 400 which was two years ago. They are spending 1.6 million on Guards at the ferries who spend more time trying to poision each other, than protect the citizens.
Now this is just a couple of stupid things they are doing in my little part of the Commonwealth, what else are they wasting money on in the rest of Virginia? And you want to give them more money. Show me they can spend what they have wisely, then we can talk about it.
Well Mike, fact is, you're
Well Mike, fact is, you're not stopping anywhere short of making the roads partisan. You seem blame all of the woes of Virginia on the republican house of delegates. Democrats do no wrong. Fact is, that of course your business associates are in favor of it. Anything that sticks it to the rest of us. You and your democrat and republican business associates feel free to stroke a check to the state treasury with any excess money you don't need. The more zeros the better. While you're at it, give the guy at the gas station an extra $20 in gas taxes with each fill-up. My tax bill is high enough thank you very much.
AM610-cell511
I drive 64 WEST from Hampton Roads almost daily. I always check radio station AM610 or call 511 for road conditions before I get on the 64/264/464/164/564/664 & 58 or 460. Then if I have to divert due to congestion at HRBT I take either 58 west to 460 or 164 to 664.Or even 58 to 17. I know I will miss all of the crawl on 64 at the HRBT. Yes it is a further trip by a few miles. BUT I am moving and not using my clutch & brakes and wasting fuel. Or getting pissed like a snake at the friendly folks cutting in. Just a tip to plan your drive and it just may not be so annoying. My backup plan-ride my motorcycle and slip by everyone-I watch out for road debris and not too fast. I would say carpool but we know nobody likes sharing their space. Just look at 8 out of 10 cars only 1 person. Any of you ever driven in DC/LA/NYC/Tokyo/London? Its not all that bad here on the I64 trail. A little thought into your drive helps minimize the frustration.
I will pay
Well Keith, what happened to the old saw that roads are neither democratic nor republican? Fact is, just about every business associate that I know is suppportive of new taxes and fees to support transportation, and most are republicans. Fact is, I really don't know anyone who agrees that they like grass so tall on the Interstate you can't see some signs, potholes so big that you risk damage to your car, bridges so deteriorated that you wonder if they will hold up, reststops with a "closed" sign thereon, and cancellation of just about every local construction project necessary to for emergency vehicles to get to their destinations. Yes, I will pay higher gas taxes, and higher sales tax, and I will pay tolls as necessary to fund the transportation infrastructure necessary to restore Virginia to the way it was.
Rubbish sir.
Sure. If you want tax and spend democrats to waste money on usless road projects for the port and light rail that will do nothing for traffic congestion, follow Mr. Barretts advice. I'm still waiting for your announcement to run for office Mike.
Time for Voter Action
Yes, as most posters have opined, the republicans in the House of Delegates have used a broken 51 year pipe once again as justification for their intrasigence on funding transportation. At this point, after a decade of neglect from them, our transportation system is worse than that of many third world countries, and the cost just to bring it up to the standards we enjoyed just fifteen years ago is scaring them to death. Then along comes a broken pipe, and their world of political grandstanding comes back again. But again, the solution to this is now up to us, the voters of Hampton Roads. If you vote to return a republican to the House of Delegates, you are once again part of the problem. No matter how nice the guy is, and how much he has helped you with tickets to the capital, these guys, and Speaker Bill Howell, simply have to go. If they ask you for a contribution, just say no!