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DINWIDDIE
Gov. Bob McDonnell had the honors Wednesday, reopening a highway rest stop, and it couldn't have come at a better time for travelers Don and Darlene Hansen.
The couple en route from Annapolis, Md., to Savannah, Ga., ducked into the Interstate 85 south pit stop minutes before McDonnell snipped a green ribbon to reopen the small brick building, one of 19 closed by the Kaine administration to cut costs.
"We would have had to keep going, wouldn't we?" said Don Hansen. "We're glad they're back open."
McDonnell traveled 35 miles south of Richmond to join government and tourism officials celebrating the reopening of two I-85 rest areas in Dinwiddie and six others across the state. By April 15, all 19 rest areas and welcome centers that were closed by McDonnell's predecessor last July will be back in business.
In an era of government belt-tightening, the closing last year struck a nerve, inspiring letters and complaints from truckers and travelers alike.
"We heard a lot of feedback," said Jeff Caldwell, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. "Some folks said we have to save money somehow, and go for it. And certainly we heard from a lot of folks saying they didn't want the rest areas closed."
McDonnell, wearing a brilliant green tie for St. Patrick's Day, said the reopenings are good for tourism and a much-need positive note at a time when "there's just so much bad news out there."
"For a small price, this is a little ray of good news," he said.
The reopened rest areas will cost the state $3 million through the end of the fiscal year, which ends in June. Next fiscal year, the cost will be $7 million, which is less than previous costs to operate them.
McDonnell said costs will be kept down by renegotiating contracts with vendors and using nonviolent offenders as labor.
"For truckers, for motorists, it really is a matter of public safety," McDonnell said. "We have some places in the state where you literally have to travel 60, 70, 80 miles between rest stops."
In addition to north and south rest stops on I-85, the other areas reopened Wednesday were along Interstate 81 in Mount Sidney, I-66 in Manassas and I-95 in Dale City.DINWIDDIE
Virginia is on its way to reopening rest areas closed during the Kaine administration.
Gov. Bob McDonnell was on hand Wednesday for a ribbon cutting at the Interstate 85 South rest stop in Dinwiddie. The rest stop was one of eight set to reopen on Wednesday.
They were among 19 rest stops that were closed last year by then-Gov. Tim Kaine. All the remaining rest stops will be reopened by April 15.
VDOT says it will use its emergency maintenance reserve fund to operate the rest stops through the end of the fiscal year on June 30. The agency says it will identify long-term funding this spring as it revises its maintenance budget.
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No purpose
Ticks, mosquitoes and democrats, too bad there isn't just one spray to get rid of them all. They are all annoying and no one can be happy as long as they are around.
Trees, trees everywhere.
The world is a rest stop. Give me a big old elm with a nearby bush of broad leaves. If it was good enough for the forefathers, its good enough for me.
Thanks Bob. I am uninsured
Thanks Bob. I am uninsured and convinced my prostrate is the size of a goat's head. So this could not have come at a better time. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
sure, but then ....
Can you honestly trust a school board that would reflexively cut teachers before cutting administration? So sure, but then all you hear is the number of teachers being cut and the horrible increase in class size.
How about asking if the separate government from city government cooperates and colaborates with each other to save money? Do they have a single health insurance program? Do they have a single garage for all their vehicles?
When the full savings have been done THEN the revenue should equal expenses.
It is good to spend money on rest areas that are well between any other town or truck stop. Where can the trucker or cross country driver stop and take a quick nap, stretch their legs, or taking a restroom break? If you have ever traveled with kids then you really want to have a place to pull over for the "I gotta go mommy" stops.
Safety Trumps It All
I'm a former long haul, IRREGULAR ROUTE trucker and I can tell you first hand about the countless times I've literally been despairing over being unable to find a safe parking place when I was out of hours or just too fatigued to drive. The truck parking shortage is still a critical problem in the Eastern U.S. as well as around virtually all major metro areas.
Highway safety is best served when we have places for worn out drivers to get off the road before they kill someone because a tired driver is just as impaired as a drunk driver-that's a fact.
So, spend a little extra time teaching your kids if you have to, but you will be caterwauling louder, albeit very briefly, when an 80,000 pound semi with a fatigued driver falls asleep at the wheel and wipes your car off the road.
Of course, that would be a GREAT physics lesson....
yeah, personal
yeah, personal responsibility is for other people . . .
Noone is Thinking...
Although I do agree that it's a good thing that the rest areas are open, I think it's insane that the Commonwealth (all of us!) is going to spend millions of dollars to maintain them when there are other departments that need it more or equally.
Here's my idea: What about employing students from colleges like Tech or community colleges in the vicinities of the rest areas with programs in appropriate areas. These schools could offer internships to the students for the work that they complete. This would serve multiple purposes: employ some students in their field, keep the rest areas open, and not spend excess money on ridiculous contracts with overpriced vendors.
Just a thought.
Who did this?
When I first read this I thought Kaine was still in office. In these difficult times of tight budgets the rest areas should be kept closed to save money. So much for the idea that McDonnell is going to be some great savior of the state budget and more fiscally responsible. It's getting harder and harder to tell the Democrats from the Republicans with how they both like to spend and spend our tax dollars.
Thank Goodness
Oh good, now my child has a place to go to the rest room - if you open one outside his portable classroom that is. But then again, he would have to stand in line with the other 35-40 students in his class along with all the other students in all the other portable classrooms. Don't tell me 3 million would not make a difference in the school budget (not to mention the 7 million next year). That would keep a lot of teaches employed (especially with what they get paid) or keep at least one school open. Sorry, I'd rather have one school than 16 rest stops. Get off the interstate and take the scenic route, then you have lots of choices for rest rooms. Don't kid yourself into thinking that more rest stops means more tourist - we can't afford the gas.
or that someone thinking of
or that someone thinking of vacationing in Virginia would say "No way I'm going there--no rest stops." It's a complete joke. Education is a necessity. Rest stops are nice to haves.