Virginia said to lag in spending stimulus funds
LINDY KEAST RODMAN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Virginia has been allocated $694.5 million in transportation stimulus funding, and work has begun on $114.6 million in projects in the state.
Virginia is dead last in the country in getting federal transportation stimulus money into the hands of working people, according to the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
"Virginia has fallen far behind other states in putting to work its Recovery Act highway formula funds," Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., wrote Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.
As of Aug. 31, Virginia had begun construction of projects totaling only about 17 percent of the state's stimulus funding, Oberstar told the governor.
"I strongly urge you to refocus your efforts to implement the Recovery Act and use the available funds to create and sustain family-wage jobs," Oberstar wrote in the letter Thursday. "These jobs are critical to Virginia's and the nation's long-term economic growth."
Virginia has been allocated $694.5 million in transportation stimulus funding, and work has begun on $114.6 million in projects in the state, according to figures from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
State officials concede the Old Dominion has moved slowly, but the administration is trying to use the money on genuinely strategic investments.
As of Sept. 30, the state is moving on 93 highway projects worth $389 million, Kaine said in a letter yesterday to Oberstar, and Virginia ranked in the middle of states on the rate it has obligated its federal stimulus money.
"Virginia has not simply substituted [stimulus] funds into existing projects," Kaine told Oberstar. "Instead, following a public comment period encouraging citizen participation, we have used a transparent and collaborative process to select new highway maintenance, highway construction, rail and transit projects needed statewide."
And, said Malcolm T. Kerley, the Virginia Department of Transportation's chief engineer, "we will meet all the timelines and we will obligate all the money" from the stimulus program.
Nonetheless, said Jeffrey C. Southard, executive vice president of the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance, an industry group, "We would like to see projects on the street and under construction faster."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday that only $3.4 billion has been spent so far nationally -- about a third less than forecast.
However, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said that nearly half of the stimulus funds provided for highway and transit projects are now under contract, with a value of $16.8 billion.
Virginia yesterday submitted its second application for stimulus funding for the Interstate 95 Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.
The application for $1.8 billion would fund 19 projects along the corridor's Petersburg-Washington section with the goal of allowing passenger trains to travel up to 90 mph by 2017.
Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or
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Reader Reactions
Kaine is too busy being the lapdog for the DNC. I guess in the true liberal way, Obama has not told poor timmyboy what to do and without being instructed, he does not know what to do. Deeds is the same way. That is why he changes his stance on what he plans for the state. Libs are unable to think for themself, they need to hear the WH talking points before offering any opinion.
‘genuinely strategic investment’ Is the money actually in the state’s hands or still to be allocated? Not that I am cynical or anything, but .... wonder if the money will still be there if a Republican wins the governorship? Gosh knows it just wouldn’t do for him to get credit for spending the stimulus money and finally fixing the roads. After all, we know the Democratic Party is the only party that cares about people.
mikeyt,
There are always shovel ready projects on VDOT’s books. The six year plan means that much of the projects on this list have plans ready, have contracts ready and are merely waiting for funding to reach the 100 percent mark before starting site work.
Maintenance projects, which are overlays and other resurfacing can be put together at the drop of a hat. Much of the work to designate which roads will be resurfaced id done the previous year so contracts can be let in the fall months for a spring start.
And there are always many roads cut due to funding that are still in the system ready to go.
VDOT is too busy implementing the plan to shed workers so as to increase “privatization” - a goal near and dear to Mr Kaine, and his cronies in the General Assembly- to even think about doing something constructive such a build roads, repair roads -cut the grass on the roads.
Isn’t any money to be put into the pockets of the politicians if VDOT actually goes to work.
Only when private firms do the work can the politicians profit, even though it costs the taxpayers an arm and a leg.
Only when VDOT is sufficiently downsized, and more workers facing the axe at some future date, will Mr. Kaine and company deem it the correct time to spend the money designed to cushion Virginia during this recession.
Of course for the Construction industry, where contractors are going out of business, and the survivors are laying off workers, it may well be too late.
There are hundreds of projects on the Six year plan ready to go -funding is all that’s holding them up.
One way or the other we will have new leadership in 2010, they will get things rolling then.
squier13 said, ...“if we didn’t waste money on roads, we could build more bicycle infrastructure and a respectable rail system.“
LOL, but what would be the point? Like it or not, highways are the chief mode of transportation, especially for people, in the US.
The rail infrastructure is perfect for freight, and CSX is making a ton of money moving it. Freight doesn’t care if the slope of curves or the grade of the incline is a little high, the roadbed isn’t perfect or rails need to be joined every 30 feet, but all of those conditions seriously compromise the safety and comfort of passengers and the speeds that people want to move at. There is a reason why CSX and the other railroad companies don’t carry passengers…there is no profit in it, especially given the current infrastructure. Upgrading that infrastructure to comfortably and safely move passengers is ridiculously expensive and most likely won’t produce a return.
Once built, the roads must be maintained. Current roads should be taken care of before new ones are built. Given those priorities and the current economic situtation, not to mention that the current freight infrastructure is the property of private companies, the government shouldn’t be wasting money on fool’s errands like high speed rail.
As for the bicycle infrastructure, I challenge you to move enough food to feed a city, even the size of Richmond, using bicycles; let alone all of the other comodities that people need and demand, but then again, I don’t think that was a serious suggestion.
“Of course, if we didn’t waste money on bike trails (which do nothing to support commerce) and high(er) speed rail, we’d be able to maintain more roads.“
**********
That’s a really excellent point. To add to that, if we didn’t waste money on roads, we could build more bicycle infrastructure and a respectable rail system.
mikeyt,
You may not realize the tremendous amount of work that has been done on I-295 near Nuckols Road because it’s all being done at night. Perhaps they should put up balloons and bunting or maybe make some videos and put them on YouTube.
Almost all the work on heavily traveled roads is being done at night. That’s why the signs with really big lettering are necessary.
yet another failure of our current leadership. Having to stretch the dollars or not…spend it already! Families are hurting, workers are hurting, commuters are hurting…and here we have another democrat leader “considering all options” and “continuing to study” the issue. Great…how long does it take?
Between the President and the DNC leader, we just can not seem to get rolling on any ONE thing. We just seem to putt on ALL things.
mikeyt,
Great news for your shocks! Last month VDOT awarded the contract to rehabilitate I-64 from Bryan Park to Parham Road. It happened on a Friday when all the TD reporters were on furlough, so we didn’t hear about it.
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