Local officials plead for transportation money

Nearly two dozen speakers, mostly local government officials and politicians, pleaded with the Commonwealth Transportation Board tonight not to cut funding for highway improvement projects vital to their communities.

Officials throughout the Virginia Transportation Department's Richmond District and beyond converged in downtown Richmond tonight for a public hearing on the state's plan to slash $1.7 billion in highway projects from 2009-2014 transportation construction plan.

That comes on top $1.1 billion in cuts made in June.

The cuts are a result of a $2.6 billion reduction in overall state and federal transportation revenue.

"Tonight's public hearing is really an extraordinary event -- to in the middle of the (fiscal) year dramatically change the six-year program capital budget for transit and highway improvements," said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer at the outset.

"In fact, to my knowledge, this has never been done as a consequence of subtracting money," he added.

Officials from Petersburg, Hopewell and the counties of Henrico, Hanover and Caroline all made pitches to keep localized projects slated for deletion.

Henrico Supervisor Pat O'Bannon, speaking as vice chair of the Richmond Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, urged the board to at least proceed with the three regional priority projects.

They include widening U.S. 360 in Hanover from Interstate 295 to Walnut Grove Road; widening U.S. 250 in Goochland County from state Route 623 to Route 621; and widening Interstate 64 in Henrico and Goochland from state Route 288 to just west of Route 623.

"Most of the projects have been on the MPO's list of regional priorities for many years, with citizens in our region patiently waiting for these important projects to get started," she said.

Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .