On the Roads

The days of the world's longest washboard may be numbered. The Commonwealth Transportation Board recently voted to repave I-64 from I-95 to Parham Road, a stretch that has been a disgrace for many years. Repair work will complicate traffic, but the results will be worth the inconvenience.

The repavement joins other welcome transportation projects in Central Virginia, which emerged from the latest allocation of highway funds in relatively good shape. The stress falls on "relatively," as the recession and other factors have savaged the state's overall transportation budget.

The Times-Dispatch's Peter Bacqué reports that Virginia's transportation-improvement program has fallen from $11.5 billion to $7.5 billion. The visible consequences include plans to close various rest stops along the interstates. The closures are regrettable but necessary. Virginia should explore privatization as a long-term solution.

Although budgetary constraints mean certain needs and wants must go unmet, the Richmond region can be happy that bridges on I-95 will be repaired and that a new Huguenot Bridge remains on the slate. It is fashionable to bemoan a lack of regional cooperation, but Central Virginia does an admirable job of prioritizing its highway requests. Other areas cannot make up their collective minds, thereby putting their citizens at a disadvantage. If the state and its regions confront real transportation problems, then in certain instances local leadership (or its lack) makes a bad situation worse. In Central Virginia, foresight has made the situation not necessarily better but at least less bad.

Virginia is not unique. Throughout the United States, transportation infrastructure is a mess. Major highways are deteriorating. Passenger trains fall short of world-class. Mass transit cries for help. Colorado's T-Rex (TRansportation EXpansion) project offers an example of the progress that can occur when communities summon the will. T-Rex featured major widenings of interstates in the Denver area as well as an expansion of light rail. The scheme came in under budget and was completed ahead of schedule. While it is impossible to eliminate traffic in heavily populated areas, Denver's drivers report relief. Other metro areas probably can cite success as well. Still, this nation, including Virginia, must do more.