Toll-Lane Revenue Proposal Gets a Rewrite in Richmond

State Plan Diverts Funding From Regional Projects

Washington area leaders agreed to turn the carpool lanes on Interstates 95 and 395 into express toll lanes in part to raise $195 million for transit, a plan that included buying 184 clean-fuel buses that would speed commuters into the District or to the Pentagon.

But that was before the proposal got to Richmond. The state's transit agency reworked the plan, put together by the Virginia Department of Transportation and a consultant. It wants to use toll revenue to extend Virginia Railway Express train platforms in Fredericksburg and to pay $1.3 million for storage for six Fredericksburg-bound train cars that would be bought with $12.6 million in toll money.

And all those new buses? The number has been reduced to 76.

"It's a bait-and-switch," said Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille (D).

Under a proposal approved last year by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, two I-95/395 carpool lanes would be converted into three high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.

The 184 buses would have reduced the time between buses at stops in Alexandria and Arlington and Fairfax counties to a maximum of 22 minutes. Buses and carpools of three or more would not pay tolls on HOT lanes.

After reviewing the proposal, the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation recommended that some of the money be spent differently -- and farther south. In addition to $40 million for VRE, the state would spend $76.6 million on park-and-ride lots and other facilities south of the converted HOT lanes, expected to open in two years.

And because the state's plan would eliminate many fare-collecting buses in favor of capital spending projects such as buying railcars, it would bring in about $92 million less in revenue than the original plan, officials said.

"This is classic," said Fairfax resident Bob Perotti, who attended a recent public hearing on transportation. "Have you noticed that Richmond has the best roads in the state and Northern Virginia has the worst traffic?"

Northern Virginia leaders say the state's proposed changes are the latest example of the region being used as a piggy bank for the Commonwealth.

"This is diverting resources needed here to another part of the state," said Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. "These are our resources."

State transit officials defended their proposal, which they say is backed by scientific research, consultation with transit providers and public input showing that a combination of VRE capital improvements and additional park-and-ride facilities and bus transit would be the most efficient use of transit money.