VDOT begins warnings of interstate rest stop closures
Virginia Department of Transportation
The northbound Interstate 95 rest stop near in Spotsylvania County near Ladysmith is among those slated for closure later this month.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has begun putting up electronic message signs today warning motorists that 18 Interstate rest areas will close July 21.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board is cutting the number of Interstate highway rest areas that VDOT operates from 42 to 23 because of the $2.6-billion revenue shortfall it is grappling with.
Electronic message signs notifying visitors that the facilities will close on July 21 are being posted at each location beginning today. VDOT has also updated its Web site and 511 traveler information system to reflect the closures.
To help truckers, VDOT plans to add 225 truck parking spaces at the remaining 23 rest areas and welcome centers on July 21.
The 18 rest areas slated to close July 21 are:
—I-64 East, Goochland
—I-64 West, Goochland
—I-85 North, Dinwiddie
—I-85 South Dinwiddie
—I-95 North, Ladysmith
—I-95 South, Ladysmith
—I-85 North, Alberta
—I-85 South, Alberta
—I-81 North, Rural Retreat
—I-81 South, Smyth
—I-81 North, Radford
—I-81 South, Troutville
—I-81 North, Mt. Sidney
—I-81 South, Mt. Sidney
—I-81 South, New Market
—I-95 North, Dale City (closed for cars)
—I-95 South, Dale City (closed for cars)
—I-66 East, Manassas
VDOT will keep the I-66 West Manassas Welcome Center open through the busy summer travel season, the state highway agency said, because it was the only welcome center being closed.
However, VDOT will close the I-66 Welcome Center Sept. 16, after the summer travel season. ¶
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compusa- glad to hear you have a job.Not every body does nowadays,you know.
And it would seem we may have somethings in common with two major differences
My initial post was to warn/complain of an impending tax increase, with the closing of the rest stops as a reliable harbinger.I think I pay enough taxes already.Period.(1 out of every 10 dollars if I may borrow YOUR numbers.)
You seem willing to pay more.Good for you.But an intelligent individual must know what a tax increase will do to the economy in this environment.And thats at the state level.Who knows what will happen up in D.C. with Obama at the wheel.
Secondly,I have faith in God and in myself.The government…not so much.
I believe in and have faith in the individual, not Tim Kaine OR Jim Gilmour for that matter.
Its still unfathomable to me that this transportation debate has gone on for so many years.Tax increases or no, the money has been there and has not been used to fulfill the most basic of governments responsibility…infrastructure.
No reporting on government waste,you’re kidding right? State or Federal. How about VITA.How about the stimulus bill . Waste.And that’s just what we hear of.
Commend VDOT for finding a way to save money.Perhaps other state departments could follow suit.
But if you still want to pay more taxes or don’t feel you’re paying enough, just write them a check.I’m
holding out as long as I can.
So we disagree.I still appreciate your mostly civil viewpoint, compusa.See you on another thread.
mrright posted “The Va State budget in 1986 was a little under $20 billion.For fiscal year 2009 the budget approaches $80 billion does it not.Thats an increase of roughly 400% in that time frame.
Since 1986 neither my prices nor my income has gone up by that same percentage.“
Yet according to this tax chart, since 1977, your Virginia tax burden has only increased from 9.7 to 9.8 percent or 0.1 percent.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/485.html
It has been lower from time to time but only by about 0.6 percent- IE from (.4% to 10.0%
If waste is occuring in the use of tax dollars in Virginia, why is no one reporting it? Pointing out specifics that we the voters can take to our reprentatives and demand change?
Where are the Newspapers? The Bloggers? The insiders and disgruntled employees that know where the bodies are buried?
I have a lot more faith, and the desire to complain to my representative, and grab my pitchfork and torch to join my neighbors on a crusade when I have tangible evidence of malfeasance.
To simply say that waste is there is a generic as saying the sky is up.
Every system has some waste inherient in it. that will never change. the trick, and most CEO’s know is to keep it at a minimum.
Now, cushy office job? Never been in Business? You REALLY don’t know me.My office is the great outdoors, and my desk is a truck.
When its hot outside I am in the heat and when it’s cold outside I dress for the weather and keep right on working.
I would die if I had to spend time in a building for any length of time.
My day usually starts around 5:00 A.M. and ends around midnight. My only vice is iced tea, and reading. the last four hours of my day are spent reading, mostly newspapers and science journals and technical websites.
And I spare time to visit one or two forums to see what is on other peoples minds.
Information. Specifics, Numbers. That is what I like to see.
Generalized comments can mean anything and cloak a number of unpleasant surprises.
Not sure it may be the settings on your computer?
Try adjusting the VOLUME for your speaker’s maybe that will help?????
:-)MeToooooo
JB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You REALLY!!!! like!!!!!!!! CAPITALIZATION!!!! and exclamation points !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
compusa-you’ve obviuosly misunderstood my point…on purpose to make your point?
My complaint about taxes lies not with VDOT in particular but with the Va State government as a whole.
The Va State budget in 1986 was a little under $20 billion.For fiscal year 2009 the budget approaches $80 billion does it not.Thats an increase of roughly 400% in that time frame.
Since 1986 neither my prices nor my income has gone up by that same percentage.
The current VDOT budget shortfall is approximately $2.6 billion dollars.
So what you’re telling me is that over the last 20 or so years the GA couldn’t squeeze a little more than the 1/70th(which you sneezed at) budget surplus we had in 2004 out of the entire state budget to provide the citizens of Va with basic
infrastructure? That is one of the most important functions of the state government and they have failed.
The money is there its just not getting to the right place.VDOT may be the most well run division of our state government but that still doesn’t change the fact that the taxpayer is the one getting hosed.
Less services,more taxes.
And let me get one more thing straight,compusa.I for one have never expected any sort of free ride like some you may know.I pay my taxes like you, follow the laws, and do my best to be a ‘model citizen’ by volunteering,coaching,scout leader,etc.
As a smalll business owner,which I doubt you are, I know all about paying the freight for whatever it is that I want vs. those who have some cushy little job sitting behind a desk all day.
I don’t want to pay NO taxes, just not MORE taxes.Get it.
The money is there and just not being allocated properly.If you’re willing to grab your ankles ,great, but like I said in an earlier post, this pattern of government waste and mismanagement is self perpetuating.It’s got to stop somewhere or else we, the citizens, are just asked to give more and more of our income to be poured in a black hole (vs pothole) somewhere.
Perhaps Kaine could cut back on his own transportation somewhat and contribute to the cause.Heaven forbid our state leaders should forego any sacrifice,right.
Have a nice day.
mrright Posted “compusa- Tim Kaine will be pleased to know he has your support AND your money.I’m sure he will spend it wisely.“
I still have not seen where you answered the question: Do you still charge the same prices you did in 1986?
Nor where you have volunteered to forego Social Security when your time comes to collect it.
As for Tim Kaine, and Mr.Warner, neither has been a transportation Governor. They talk real pretty, but have no results to show for it.
Taxes on the other hand, I do understand. If you don’t want schools, roads, bridges, police, military then by all means do away with taxes.
You don’t want to pay for them, so obviously you don’t need them.
Taxes are the only thing you pay that gets returned to the community 100 percent. No one makes a profit -except consultants and contractors.
For the last seven governors, everyone has had special commissions, special aduts and appointed commissioners to root out waste and fraud, and you know what?
There have been ZERO specific instances of waste, or abuse of tax dollars in VDOT. If there had been, The newspapers would have trumpeted unceasingly for months on end.
Oh, they all scream about waste, but never seem to come up with anything that would indicate such is occurring.
What they have come up with is that VDOT has been underfunded for decades.
And has still maintained a level of service unparalleled in any other agency, (or private business).
One thing that has stood out is that for every service contracted out the costs for that service have soared over in-house costs and the service has been less than stellar ( The IT contract with Northrup-Grummond springs to mind)
With internal and external auditors, Jaylarc committees and intense public scrutiny by the media all examining VDOT operations, it seems more than passing strange that the huge waste the politicians claim has yet to be documented.
I pay my taxes, Local, state, federal, and at the fuel pump, and make certain when the money appears wasted to bring the specific incident to my representatives attention.
Would I could do the same with the bills I pay for over-priced goods and services.
I don’t begrudge the government payment for the services I demand, and recieve.
I was brought up to understand there are no free lunches, and that If I buy a product, or utilize a service, I am expected to produce payment for them.
You don’t want to pay, then don’t use the service or buy the product.
Government services are no different from those produced in the private sector. And there are some private roads in Virginia - I think the toll on them are several orders higher than the ones the state charges for their roads.
Right now, using the Gas tax as an example, if your car gets 18 miles to the gallon, you pay taxes of about a penny a mile on rads that cost more than a million dollars to build - and ALL roads in the commonwealth are built by private contractors as are all bridges, and the majority of them are designed by private companies, or consultants.
I believe that all the service plazas in Florida are along the Florida Turnpike, which is a toll road. Therefore, like I-95 in Maryland, the fact that it’s a toll road allows it to have service plazas. It seems to me that given the way things are so screwed up economically these days, we could change a few laws to make things work. One of those would be to allow private rest areas.
compusa- Tim Kaine will be pleased to know he has your support AND your money.I’m sure he will spend it wisely.
as I understand it; Maryland, built their portion of I95 with bonds that were repaid with tolls. They built those service areas (as they are called) with that money (not federal dollars).
New Jersey and Pennsylvania have turnpikes that are funded by tolls, so they are exempt from the federal law, since they didn’t use federal dollars, either.
A few states like Florida had service areas before the 1961 law went into affect, so they are grandfathered in.
Face it: Virginia WILL NEVER be able to turn those existing rest areas into service areas.
I like the idea of private rest stops. LOL!
Virginia has been trying for several decades to do Private Rest stops!!! L- O- L!!!
How old are YOU? Have you EVER HEARD OF STUCKEYS in VIRGINIA! Damn PEOPLE!!! Wake the HECK UP!!!!
MORE TAXES, like printing money small business need to make money to stay in BUSINESS! Because that’s what it takes to run a business!!!!!!! NOT a GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE DO NOT HAVE A CROSS OVER THE BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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