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Speculation abounds that a House-Senate Conferee deal is brewing involving the Hampton Roads Midtown-Downtown Tunnel and Dulles Rail Phase 2. One rumored scenario would legislatively scrap the $2.1 billion Hampton Roads Midtown-Downtown Tunnel PPTA contract and mandate that only a new Midtown Tunnel be built entirely with state funding through over $1 billion in federal GARVEE financing.
It appears that some Hampton Roads legislators do not like having constituents pay $1.59 tolls to pay for the new tunnel and instead want the new tunnel for free. In the meantime, Northern Virginia may get $300 million more for Phase 2 Dulles Rail (possibly by increasing the authorized level of HB 3202 Capital Project Revenue Bonds from $3 to $3.3 billion) which would still mean Dulles Toll Road tolls of "only $4.50" for the next few years with higher rates to follow.
A decade ago Hampton Roads (and Northern Virginia) voters overwhelmingly rejected a regional sales tax that could have funded the Midtown-Downtown Tunnels without tolls.
Scrapping the PPTA deal would mean breaking a legally binding contract with the consortium, incurring financial penalties and totally circumventing the Commonwealth Transportation Board/state and local planning and approval processes. Not a real private sector confidence builder for a state with virtually no construction dollars desperate to attract private sector investment.
Virginia has already committed $400 million to the Downtown/Midtown/MLK Extension project to buy down tolls. To provide the total $1 billion (and allow Hampton Road residents a toll-free trip) the Commonwealth would have to add another $600 million in GARVEE funds or essentially all of the $1.2 billion in authorized GARVEE bond funds for the next 10-12 years to a single Hampton Roads project. (GARVEE bonds are repaid from future federal revenues meaning that about $100 million/year in future federal revenues will go to a single Hampton Roads project as opposed to being leveraged across many throughout the state.)
Transportation officials say that this would most likely kill Northern Virginia's I-95 Express HOT Lanes project for which GARVEES are targeted and potentially several others including the Route 7/Belmont Ridge Road Interchange and the Leesburg Bypass/Sycolin Road interchange.
Dulles Rail Phase 2 most certainly needs the additional $300 million (and more) in state funding and such an amount will keep Dulles Toll Road tolls at "only $4.50" for a few years. However, at what cost to other Northern Virginia projects?
All of this maneuvering results from two decades of General Assembly refusal to approve new long-term sustained funding.
Above all it points to the need for House and Senate leaders and Governor McDonnell to reach agreement on serious new, long-term transportation funding to build the new roads, tunnels and public transit Virginia's transportation network and economy require.
To contact House-Senate Conferees on this matter, click here.
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