Fort Lee expansion spurs road-funding pleas

While Fort Lee's expansion proceeds, Tri-Cities authorities are appealing to state transportation officials for funding to meet the expected traffic increase in and around the base.

Petersburg Mayor Annie M. Mickens made the case for the Tri-Cities region at a recent Commonwealth Transportation Board hearing.

Fort Lee, she said, is scheduled to double its operations in the next two years as a result of the 2005 Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission plan.

That means that six road and intersection projects to handle the additional traffic need to move forward, she said.

The state has announced plans to slash $2 billion in highway projects from the fiscal year 2009-2014 Six-Year improvement Program. This is on top of $1.1 billion in cuts made when the program was adopted in June.

Of the six projects Mickens mentioned, three will be significantly unfunded if the proposed state funding reductions are implemented, local officials said.

Those projects at the fort entrance that carries the heaviest traffic are scheduled for construction in 2011. They include:

Unfunded balances in the projects are a combination of some cost increases and state funding reductions, said Joe Vinsh, secretary of the Tri-Cities MPO.

The cost-estimate increase for the projects is $1.6 million, and the state funding cuts are $2.5 million for a total underfunding of $4.1 million, he said.

Local officials have not identified other sources for funding to offset that amount, Vinsh said.

The area has not received any special funds for road improvement for BRAC and the localities have made the projects near Fort Lee a priority, relying on regular funding to cover costs, he said.

Road improvements near Fort Lee, however, remain crucial as an influx of new residents in the next two years as a result of the 2005 BRAC plan will greatly affect the area's traffic, said Jason Gray, project manager with the BRAC Construction Office at Fort Lee.

The base, he said, has been working closely with localities on getting some of the area's infrastructure ready.

The expansion at Fort Lee in Prince George County will mean nearly 15,000 new residents in the Tri-Cities region by 2011, according to official estimates.

By then, the post will go from having about 4,100 students a day to more than 11,000. The base's total daily supported population -- which includes military students, permanent troops and their families, civilian employees and their families, and contractor employees and their families -- is projected to increase from last year's 31,545 to about 46,763 in 2011.

Mickens said state officials should take into account that Fort Lee is and will be an economic engine for the region and state. Funding the projects is a good investment, she said.

Fort Lee operations in 2006 generated about $53 million in state and local taxes, according to a 2007 economic analysis by the Virginia Employment Commission. The analysis projects that in 2007 through 2013, total taxes could approach $580 million, with $200 million of that in local revenue.

The CTB is scheduled to finalize the revised plan at its Feb. 19 meeting.

Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .