Chesapeake manager rejects Dominion Boulevard proposal

CHESAPEAKE

City Manager William Harrell on Thursday rejected a private proposal to widen Dominion Boulevard, replace the Steel Bridge and charge tolls of as much as $2.50.

Among the problems with the plan, Harrell said, is that it posed potential safety concerns for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians; overestimated future traffic on Dominion; and underestimated the number of drivers who would dodge a toll there. C ity officials also worried whether the toll would be affordable.

Although another proposal from the group is welcome, he said, the city intends to move forward with its own largely unfunded $373 million plan to widen Dominion, replace the Steel Bridge and create a toll facility.

Officials revealed Thursday that the city had applied last month for a $150 million low-interest federal highway construction loan for the Dominion project. Chesapeake also has requested about $20 million in federal stimulus money.

"We are aggressively pursuing all options to get this project done," Harrell said.

Executives with the private group say they intend to resubmit a plan once they answer the city's questions.

"This was not unexpected," said S. Grey Folkes Jr., CEO of Hassell & Folkes, a Chesapeake engineering firm that is part of the development team. "I didn't think they were just going to take the proposal carte blanche and accept it. We were actually encouraged by the response. I think the questions they asked are appropriate. We look forward to providing some answers."

Harrell's decision means the City Council will not review the proposal now. If Harrell eventually accepts a plan from Folkes and his team, other groups will have at least 45 days to submit competing proposals. The council would have the final say.

The plan was the second submitted in Chesapeake in the past year that called for tolls. Harrell and the council support a proposal to replace the Jordan Bridge and charge a toll of about $2, and officials are waiting for a U.S. Coast Guard review.

The Dominion project would replace the existing two-lane drawbridge with a four-lane, 95-foot-high fixed span. T he Steel Bridge would have an electronic toll system so drivers would not have to stop to pay. The project could be completed within 48 months and cost between $300 million and $400 million, executives say.

Harrell, his staff and consultants reviewed it for about a month. On Thursday, the city manager produced a list of five "deficiencies" in the plan. Citing confidentiality, Chesapeake would not release the six-page letter officials sent to Virginia 104 LLC, the private development team that includes bridge contractor PCL Civil Constructors Inc.

Along with the safety issues, city officials said Virginia 104 did not demonstrate that it could meet the requirements of an environmental assessment already completed for the Dominion project. The group's financing plan was another issue, Harrell said.

"There were very few details in terms of how they would finance the project," he said.

While the private group proposed a toll of between $1 and $2.50, Harrell said he was worried that the toll would have to go higher to pay off the project.

"We feel like what we submitted in fact addresses the safety issues," Folkes said. "They may have some questions beyond some of the factors we thought about. And I just have to find out what concerns them."

While Harrell believes Virginia 104 has overestimated traffic counts, Folkes said that his group is still completing a more-detailed traffic and revenue study. The toll estimate is still in the works, as well, Folkes said.

"We're aware that toll rate drives the success of this project," Folkes said. "We think we're going to be able to prove to them that whatever toll rate and corresponding improvements are ultimately presented will, in fact, work."

Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com