Prince William supervisors turn up heat on HOT lanes
Seven Prince William supervisors Tuesday passed a resolution demanding state transportation and High Occupancy Toll company representatives appear before the board and address a variety of concerns, ranging from the ethical to the financial.
Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, abstained from voting.
At the same time, supervisors also requested the governor's office to provide "copies of any and all correspondence, written and electronic," between various entities involved in the HOT lane project.
The Interstate 95/395 toll project is a joint endeavor of Virginia's Department of Transportation and the foreign company Transurban, calling for the reconfiguring of existing High Occu-pancy Vehicle, or HOV lanes, into HOT lanes.
Under the terms of the project development and oversight agreement, Transurban will hold 90 percent of ownership rights of the HOT lanes for 80 years—leading to high toll costs on Prince William commuters who already "stand to either pay the most in tolls under the plan or suffer the longest delays," according to the board's resolution.
Further, voters will have no say in this VDOT endeavor, the resolution continues.
This is especially alarming, said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, given the operating loss Transurban is currently experiencing.
"What is more troublesome are recent revelations about the financial health of the foreign company to which VDOT is proposing to transfer ownership and control of … [the] HOV lanes," Stewart said in written remarks. "Transurban has an accumulated debt of $3.8 billion. They posted a loss of $117 million last year. They paid their former CEO more money last year than they collected in tolls and fees associated with the Pocahontas Parkway in Rich-mond."
Of concern, too, Stewart continued—and the resolution echoed—were reported campaign con-tributions from Transurban to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and other leading state Democrat and Republican legislators to the tune of $172,000.
"I believe we are owed some answers," he wrote.
The resolution seeks a meeting with VDOT and Transurban officials by Feb. 1.
Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.
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Reader Reactions
DTRT: It’s not a golden parachute. It’s pay for performance. Tre CEO and execs get a big bundle if the business is successful (good performance), and they get an equally big bonus if the business goes belly up (pay for performance). The CEO’s work so hard, they say, and deserve every cent, even when they bankrupt the business.
Why did Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, abstained from voting?
Chairmen Stewart and the entire board needs to look into the dealings of Transurban. The viability of a company is usually demonstrated by the kind of package they give their CEO, often referred to as the “Golden Parachute.“ when a CEO still stands to make a fortune when the company goes under, this is reason for further investigation.
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