Virginia Delays I-395/95 HOT Lane Project

Concerns Over Funds, Local Traffic Cited

By Ashley Halsey III, Anita Kumar

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Plans to expand the ambitious HOT lanes project to ease traffic congestion in Virginia will be delayed because state leaders fear the bond market won’t support funding for the private-public venture and some local officials are uneasy with the proposal.

The decision will affect the high-occupancy toll lanes that were to be built on interstates 395 and 95, but not those under construction on the Capital Beltway.

“Basically, what we are doing is taking a deep breath and reassessing the situation,” said Gordon Hickey, a spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).

Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee) said he was disappointed by the decision but not surprised, given the economic downturn. He said he had hopes the private-public project would go forward because the state doesn’t have money of its own to spend.

“Pulling the plug on a project of this magnitude is a mistake,” McKay said.

HOT lanes are free to carpools and buses, but drivers who don’t meet high-occupancy vehicle requirements are supposed to pay tolls. Variable pricing is used to keep traffic flowing during peak hours, with toll rates increasing as the lanes become more congested. Drivers who don’t want to pay can use the free non-HOT lanes.

The HOT lane project on the Beltway has been funded under an unusual partnership between the state and a consortium called Fluor-Transurban.

Fluor is an international construction company, and the Transurban Group operates toll roads in Australia. Officials of Fluor and Transurban had been negotiating a funding package for the expansion with the state, and the total cost of the project had not been determined.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer informed the two companies Friday of the postponement decision, saying in a letter that borrowing money for the project in recession-racked financial markets was a daunting challenge. Spokesmen for the two firms were not immediately available to comment Monday.

Although Homer did not say when the proposal might be revived, he said the plan had been delayed but not abandoned. "We’re going to continue to develop this project in concert with the regional transit providers and the affected localities,” he said.

Construction will continue on the $1.9 billion Beltway HOT lanes. That project will provide two express lanes in each direction along a 14-mile stretch from just north of the Dulles Toll Road to the Springfield interchange.

The I-395/95 HOT lanes would extend south from the Pentagon to Massaponax in Spotsylvania County, intersecting with the Beltway at the Springfield interchange. Construction was to have begun by next summer.

The highway that begins in Washington as I-395 and becomes I-95 in Springfield is one of the most congested in a region that is one of the most congested in the nation.

A 2005 study by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments projected that by next year, traffic during the evening rush will travel at much less than 40 mph until well south of the Fairfax County Parkway. Already, traffic just south of the Beltway can slow to less than 20 mph even during off-peak hours.

The I-395/95 HOT lane plan would add a third lane to a pair of existing HOV lanes. There has been talk of tolls costing about $1.60 a mile for single-occupancy vehicles during rush hours.

In addition to worries about the bond market, Homer attributed the delay to local officials’ concerns that the toll lanes would adversely affect neighborhood traffic patterns.

“We’ve got legitimate community issues, and this is not the right time to be moving forward with a financing of this nature on this project,” he said.

He said the projected $2.6 billion revenue shortfall that has led to the furlough of more than 1,000 full- and part-time state transportation employees was not a factor in the decision.

“Unlike the nearly $2 billion in highway and transit construction projects that have been canceled in the last year, this project has a revenue source and a strong transit and HOV component,” Homer said. “It is essential to serving the nearly 90,000 Department of Defense employees who live and work in the I-95/395 corridor. It will emerge from this process as a stronger project.”

Arlington County Board member Chris Zimmerman (D) said he was not surprised by news of the delay.

“It’s not surprising in this environment for a project that I would say is probably marginal to start with,” Zimmerman said. “I don’t think this project has been entirely well thought through. I think there are too many unknowns that those who would do it haven’t really answered themselves.”

Your Thoughts...

Are you happy that the school year is over?