Connaughton: State eyeing new revenue streams for road projects

Virginia is looking to address its transportation issues as best they can through a variety of measures, according to Commonwealth Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton.

The former Prince William Board of County Supervisors chairman told a Prince William Chamber of Commerce lunch crowd at Old Hickory Golf Club on Wednesday that the state’s main goal is to plug a $400 to $500 million hole each year that could be devoted to capital projects but instead is funneled to pay for road upkeep.

However, other than speaking to the possibility of public-private partnerships, Connaughton did not provide any details on how to stop this trend. He also reiterated Gov. Bob McDonnell’s opposition to raising the gasoline tax in a one-on-one interview with the News & Messenger.

“Our focus is to look at the problem … and come up with a menu of potential options to address these challenges and work with the General Assembly on potential solutions,” Connaughton said.

Connaughton said one of the biggest challenges he had to deal when he arrived in 2009 was the culture of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

As an example of VDOT’s inefficiency, Connaughton cited the brief but controversial shutting down of the state’s rest areas. Connaughton said there was $538 million that could have kept the stations open the day they initially closed.

Nearly $900 million in unspent maintenance funds was also found in the 2010 audits commissioned by McDonnell. During his talk, Connaughton addressed the audits as well as the many local projects included in the governor’s $4 billion transportation bill approved by the General Assembly.

Some of those projects include phase I of the U.S. 1 widening between Mary’s Way and Annapolis Way and the widening of Interstate 66 from Gainesville to U.S. 15 in Haymarket.

Those projects are fully funded and are expected to start by 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Connaughton also addressed the HOT lanes on both the Capital Beltway and Interstate 95 – both of them public-private partnerships. The former project scheduled for completion by the end of 2012 and the latter scheduled for an environmental assessment in September, said Connaughton.

On a positive note, the state’s recent track record on obligating funds from the federal government led Virginia to receive a $30 million portion from states that did not do such a good job in that vein last year, said Connaughton. This funding, which can only be spent on capital projects, is called bonus obligation funds.

Connaughton told the crowd there’s a good chance the state will receive anywhere from $30 to $40 million of this type funding again this year.

Connaughton also spoke to McDonnell’s Sponsorship, Advertising and Vending Enhancement program – an additional revenue stream from rest stop advertising — and the Active Traffic Enhancement program on I-66. An announcement regarding the contract award for the sponsorship program is expected next week, said Connaughton.

The Active Traffic Enhancement program is expected to cost $32 million and could begin as early as the fall of 2012, according to the VDOT website. Connaughton said the program will help traffic flow by keeping motorists informed of incidents and by designating speed limits to individual lanes.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-530-3904.