N. Va. to bear brunt of $2B in transportation cuts

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia leaders will announce about $2 billion in transportation cuts Wednesday, as part of the state's revised six-year transportation plan.

Most of the cuts will involve highway projects throughout the state.

"The long-term forecast is very dismal for transportation funding," Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer tells WTOP.

"For future projects -- after the (projects) that are underway -- we are focusing on simply replacing and repairing deficient bridges, replacing and repairing deficient pavements, and maintaining a minimal level of transit services."

The State's Commonwealth Transportation Board began an unusual mid-year revision of the Fiscal Year 2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement Program during its monthly meeting in Richmond in December.

Since that time, there have been additional cuts made to transportation plans throughout the state.

Northern Virginia will bear the brunt of about 20 percent of the $2 billion in cuts.

Homer says there are a few projects that come to mind right away that will not be able to advance to the construction phase.

"A partial widening of I-66 inside the Beltway, in Arlington, in the westbound lanes. Those are actually spot improvements. And a second project is the interchange at Route 29 and Gallows Road in Merrifield. There simply is not enough money to pay for those projects."

Virginia must now move toward developing a plan to maintain its current infrastructure, even as transportation revenues continue to shrink.

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