This is what it's come to in this state:
Virginia has almost no money to start new highway projects, according to state transportation officials.The Virginia Department of Transportation released a list yesterday of almost 200 construction projects that will be delayed or dropped from consideration in the state's proposed $7.9-billion six-year transportation program.
"Those projects have no foreseeable funding sources for the next six years," state Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer said of the works left out of the 2009-2014 building program.
"We are unable to initiate major new projects throughout the commonwealth simply due to the lack of funding," Homer said.
The General Assembly will meet June 23 to try again to come up with a solution for the state's increasingly oppressive urban congestion and rural access problems.
Does anyone seriously think the General Assembly's going to come up with billions of dollars (or even hundreds of millions?) in money for Virginia transportation projects during this special session? If so, can I borrow some of your super-optimism pills? Thanks! :)
P.S. If you don't think building new highways is a good idea (e.g., because they simply lead to more sprawl, more environmental destruction and more gridlock), then this lack of funding is great news. On the downside, however, the lack of transportation funding also means no new rail or other transit projects either. And what about maintenance of existing roads and bridges, before they start falling apart? Time for some more super-optimism pills, I guess! Ha.
vote against virtually everything, I don't think we will see a solution.
To an extent I am against road expansions as it does lead to sprawl, but with 4$/gallon fuel, that situation is correcting itself already - gradually gridlock will be reduced as people drive less.
The maintenance issues are far more concerning however. There was an interesting discussion here:
http://www.theoildrum.com/node...
where I found this story:
Oil prices seep into asphalt costs, detour road work
CHICAGO - Fewer roads will be repaved this summer, thanks to soaring prices of oil-based asphalt.Some states, cities and counties say their road-repair budgets didn't anticipate asphalt prices that are up 25.9% from a year ago, so they're being forced to delay projects.
"We will do what patching we can, but this will truly, truly be a devastating blow to the infrastructure," says Shirlee Leighton, a county commissioner in Lake County, S.D., where a 5-mile repaving project was postponed after bids came in $79,000-$162,000 higher than the $442,000 budget.
and this comment:
A few paved roads in Hall County, Neb., will revert to gravel surfaces, says public works director Casey Sherlock. "At some point, they'll be potholed so bad we won't be able to keep patching them." He had hoped to resurface 6-7 miles of road this spring and could afford only 2 miles.