Virginia's state highway construction and maintenance program is going to shrink again.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will have to cut an additional $134 million from the Virginia Department of Transportation's budget this year and trim the state's six-year highway program by $743 million by December.
With the economy bottoming, and taking state revenue with it, "we could be talking about a billion or more [dollars] in cuts" this year, state Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer said yesterday.
"What we're doing is minimally maintaining the highway system and maximizing federal dollars" now with Virginia's transportation funds, Homer said.
VDOT may have to cancel promised road projects, eliminate local revenue-sharing for road work next year, and borrow less money for transportation initiatives than planned, said Reta R. Busher, VDOT's chief financial officer.
Further service reductions and VDOT staff cuts also are possible.
Faced with tumbling revenue, state transportation officials already have cut $3.1 billion -- 36 percent -- from the state's six-year highway program in the past year and a half.
About two-thirds of state transportation revenue is tied to auto and fuel sales, and "neither of those are healthy industries," Homer noted.
The gasoline tax is the largest state source of transportation funds. In the fiscal year that began July 1, its receipts will be only slightly above those seven years ago, Busher said. The state's tax revenue from vehicle sales is 39 percent below the 2005 peak.
"This news, combined with closed rest stops and delays on HOT [high-occupancy toll] lanes and other crucial projects, demonstrates that this administration has not made transportation a budget priority," said Tucker Martin, spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell.
"And Creigh Deeds' refusal to even offer a transportation plan demonstrates the issue is not a priority for him, either."
Jared Leopold, spokesman for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deeds, said the VDOT funding plan "highlights the need for a realistic transportation plan that invests in Virginia's future."
The "news fully exposes Bob McDonnell's shell game of a transportation scheme," Leopold said. "During tough budget times, we can't afford McDonnell's plan to rob $5.4 billion from education and core priorities."
At yesterday's meeting, Busher told board members that "even with a modest economic recovery," state transportation revenue is not expected to return to 2008 levels until 2012.
However, VDOT had a bright spot for the Richmond area.
The department has begun the high-priority repaving of heavily potholed Interstate 64 between Interstate 95's Bryan Park interchange and Parham Road in Henrico County.
Under a $35 million contract, Branscome Inc. of Williamsburg will repair 5.5 miles of I-64 and more than 35 ramps. The work should be completed by November 2010.
That part of the interstate was built in the 1960s and handles about 140,000 vehicles per day.
Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.
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