'An Uphill Struggle' for N.Va. Roads Plan

Albo's plan would send $50 million per year to Metrorail and $30 million to Virginia Railway Express. A large chunk would be divided among the jurisdictions according to where the money was raised, and the remainder would be controlled by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, a regional entity that would be required to spend a portion of the revenue on smaller road projects in addition to larger ones.

"I didn't want the authority blowing all the money on three big projects," Albo said. "My real concern is to make sure my constituents can get out of their house."

The type of small project that the money could go toward is the widening of Rolling Road, which has been scheduled to be expanded from two to four lanes for more than a decade, Albo said.

The type of big project that would benefit is the Fairfax County Parkway, which is planned to be extended to Fort Belvoir.

Not everyone in Northern Virginia supports the proposal. The Fairfax County Republican Committee issued a proclamation this week opposing proposals that require new taxes or fees. The Home Builders Association of Virginia opposes it because of the proposed fee on new homes.

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William) said he plans to vote against it. "Raising taxes on hardworking Northern Virginia families is not the answer to our transportation problem," he said.

Backers of the regional plan note that business leaders in Northern Virginia, many of them in real estate, are calling for some solution to traffic. "We have not endorsed a specific proposal, but we are urging the legislature to go ahead and adopt a transportation funding solution," said Jim Williams, executive vice president of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.

Backers also say their plan represents the best hope for a meaningful fix to the state's ailing transportation network in a year when raising taxes and fees across the state is unlikely. Kaine's earlier proposal to raise taxes by $1 billion statewide to pay for new road and transit projects froze the legislature for six months and helped bring the state to the brink of a budget crisis.

The last thing legislators want is to come home empty-handed -- particularly in an election year in which traffic and growth once again are bound to be major themes.

"We're in a jam," said state Del. Joe T. May (R-Loudoun), who supports the regional plan. "We can't really afford to wait longer to address it."