The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
The city is on the brink of a transportation boom. Crews could soon start work on road projects, like the replacement of the Lesner Bridge and the elimination of those feeder roads that confuse drivers along Laskin Road.
Gov. Bob McDonnell included several of Virginia Beach's road projects in his $4 billion proposal to address the state's transportation needs. In fact, if the plan is approved as is, Virginia Beach could get more money than any other locality statewide for its individual transportation projects - about $360 million. Prince William County in Northern Virginia would be second with $177 million.
"This is a big windfall for the city," said Phil Pullen, the Beach's transportation division manager.
McDonnell's proposal would help pay for eight major road projects in Virginia Beach, including the widening of Witchduck and Holland roads, the extension and widening of Lynnhaven Parkway, a new alignment for part of Indian River Road and the extension of Elbow Road.
Some of these projects have been in the city's plans for years but were stalled because of lack of money, Pullen said.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board still has to approve the list and timing of the funds, which it will consider doing this spring.
The governor's office included road projects on the list that had been on Virginia Department of Transportation's six-year plan, Joe Vagi, a spokesman for the agency, said in an email.
State officials also considered local and regional priorities, and projects that can start construction within three years, Vagi said.
The Virginia Beach City Council has maintained funding for road projects, even as state money dried up in recent years, Pullen said. The city slowly acquired right-of-way and performed preliminary engineering work that kept these projects on track, he said.
Projects such as the widening of Elbow Road, which ranked 35 out of 93 in the region's priority list for urban highway projects, also made it on McDonnell's list.
"These at one time were the most congested roads in the city," Pullen said. "Or still are."
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms said these road projects are priorities for the city and will help ease traffic.
Sessoms and the region's mayors have lobbied hard for more transportation money for Hampton Roads in recent months, meeting with McDonnell and speaking to the transportation board.
That may be part of the reason Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads fared well in the first cut for this funding, Sessoms said.
McDonnell identified more than $600 million in projects for the Hampton Roads district in his plans.
It's "the greatest thing to happen to Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads in a long time," Sessoms said. "We haven't been funded very well in a number of years, and it is our turn."
The city has fostered cooperation with McDonnell.
Earlier this year, when McDonnell asked Virginia Beach to pay for a $50,000 study on whether a lighthouse structure would support a research tower for wind energy, the City Council agreed. At least one council member said it was politically prudent, considering that McDonnell would be developing a list of road projects for funding.
Sessoms declined to comment on whether that helped Virginia Beach the city get many of its road projects closer to state funding.
"I think it's critical that we have a good working relationship with the governor, and I think we do," Sessoms said.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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huh? wut?
this is a winfall? in what universe? this country's government borrows 92,ooo$ a second. that is 5 and 1/2 million dollars a minute. they gonna throw a few mill of that at the roads? imagine that winning the 5.5 mill lottery every minute of every day. guess who gets to pay the bill? golf clap.
Maintenance first
I'd rather see the money go to maintaining what we've already got instead of building MORE. The Lesner Bridge does need to be replaced as a part of maintaining existing routes in Virginia Beach. The problem is, road maintenance isn't as headline-catching or - to use the new term: sexy - as new projects.
Don't get lathered up
For those of you complaining about not having HRBT as the #1 priority, remember that this article is only about Virginia Beach and doesn't talk about the other localities' projects. The HRBT is not in VB, folks. Perhaps details of what Gov proposed for Norfolk would cover that. Let's hope so.
so true
The decisions about the HRBT are in the hands of the incompetent group of politicians that make up the HRTPO. They are barely capable of deciding which doughnuts to have at the meeting, let alone figuring out which transportation projects in TIDEWATER are important.
It's a good thing these funding decisions are being made by the CTB, not the HRTPO.
Thank Bob Dyer
I'd like to thank VB Councilman Bob Dyer for pushing to get Centerville connected with the rest of the area. We've needed Elbow and Indian River Rd's widened and finished for years not to metion connecting .8th mile on Lynnhaven Parkway to Centerville Tp so we can get the traffic out of the residential areas. These roads have been held up for decades but Dyer found a method to get them done!
Bob Dyer is saving lives and moving traffic. Thank you Mr. Dyer.
I'll second that!
How long has it been since those houses on Lynhaven were knocked down?
Feeder roads are worthless
Worthless and silly, taking up critical right-of-way but carrying little capacity on Laskin Road. That ROW is expensive, and every bit of it ought to be carrying traffic. Who on earth, designing a modern roadway today, does so with feeder roads?
Why isn't more tubes for HRBT priority #1?
Anyone driving between the Southside and the Peninsula in the summer understands this.
More tubes won't help.
I think we have more drivers who don't know how to maintain the speed limit inside the tunnels than we have drivers who don't know how to drive on feeder roads.
Our Roads Are Critical...We Are Lacking Real Mass Transit
They are overcrowded and in disrepair and combine that with the fact the are handling more than the traffic load they were designed for we are all paying the price.
Something as small and often overlooked as the painted lane and side markings need to be addressed too they are so old in many cases they are invisible.