Portsmouth leaders, residents rally against toll project

PORTSMOUTH

Now that state officials have finalized a deal to build another Midtown Tunnel, the reality of tolls has sparked a protest from Portsmouth residents and second-guessing among some city officials.

Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright told a crowd outside City Hall on Wednesday that his city would lead a charge to beat back the size of the tolls. He said every other South Hampton Roads community should join the effort because of the adverse impact that tolls will have on the region economically.

"This thing is far from over," Wright said.

The project, which includes other road improvements, also was the subject of scrutiny at events in Norfolk. Mayor Paul Fraim told a gathering of downtown business leaders that while he supports it, he questioned some of the costs feeding its toll levels - the profit for the private companies and paying for overdue maintenance on both the Midtown and Downtown tunnels.

Tolls initially would be $1.59 for off-peak hours and $1.84 during peak hours for cars, and $4.77 for off-peak hours and $7.36 during peak hours for trucks using the Downtown and Midtown tunnels. Tolls on an extension of the Martin Luther King Freeway to Interstate 264 would be $1, or 50 cents for cars that used either of the tunnels.

Tolling is expected to begin in the fall through the E-ZPass electronic system, eliminating the need for toll booths.

Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Greg Whirley said he's surprised by the backlash. State officials were told by local leaders that a $1.50 toll would be tolerable, he said, so the state negotiated with the private companies and pitched in $362 million to bring the tolls down from an original $3 proposal.

"We tried to find a balance and hit that target number," Whirley said. "It was hard getting to that number, because the overall numbers are just so large."

The $2.1 billion project includes a second Midtown tube, improvements to the Downtown and Midtown tunnels, extending the Martin Luther King Freeway plus operating and maintenance for 58 years.

Whirley said bringing down the toll by a penny would cost the state $10 million to $13 million.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Steering Committee, an influential group of local black leaders, organized the Portsmouth rally as a signed contract appeared imminent. The Rev. Melvin O. Marriner, president of the committee, told a crowd of about 100 people that the tolls will place too large a burden on the city's working class, students, the elderly and businesses.

"I believe it is never too late, even with a signed contract, to negotiate how the tolls will be implemented," he said.

Five City Council members, among other local elected officials, stood with the speakers, but not all were united in their message. Councilman Bill Moody Jr. handed out written statements criticizing Wright for coming out against the project so strongly now rather than months ago.

"Instead of being a leader on the subject of tolls Mayor Wright has been silent on the sidelines," Moody wrote.

Wright said he had written to VDOT officials in January and was monitoring the project, but state officials were not releasing enough details to protest it. Councilman Steve Heretick backed him, saying Wright had been working through the city attorney and city manager for months to find out how the deal was being structured.

"He's been completely shut out of those conversations, but not for any lack of trying on his part," Heretick said by email.

Whirley said he had met with Hampton Roads officials, including Wright, during the project's planning stages and that VDOT had shared everything that was not proprietary or confidential.

VDOT also has been holding public meetings detailing the project and its tolls throughout Portsmouth and Norfolk for much of the past year.

The city managers from Portsmouth and Norfolk also were part of a 15-member review panel that was formed in 2009 by the state's secretary of transportation that evaluated and endorsed the project proposal.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com

Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com