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Statewide Solutions On Roads Discussed
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A downturn in the economy and soaring asphalt and steel prices have diminished Virginia's ability to pay for transportation improvements.
State officials say that there is a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars in the budget for maintaining roads and that the fund could be all but depleted within a decade.
"Although we want to solve the problem, we have decided that there are only certain ways we can fund it, and I think that limits us in trying to find a solution to the problem," Sen. Yvonne B. Miller (D-Norfolk) said.
"You cannot fix transportation without a huge infusion of funds, and you can't have a huge infusion of funds unless people are willing to bite the bullet," she said.
The two most populous regions in the state, which have more than 60 legislators, will play an integral role when the 140-member General Assembly returns to Richmond for the special session. About half of them came to Richmond for Wednesday's meeting, about two-thirds of them Democrats.
"We are the new urban majority," Del. Paula Miller (D-Norfolk) said. "We have some political muscle here, and it's time we flex it."
Legislators talked about their unwillingness to send more transportation money to other parts of the state, their desire to use taxes or fees that will grow over time and the need for specific projects in their regions.
They said that the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads economies generate money used statewide and that to lose any companies or military bases because of traffic problems would hurt the entire state.
"If we don't solve the transportation problem, we will face a major economic disaster," Del. William K. Barlow (D-Isle of Wight) said.
