Wiley Mitchell and Trip Pollard give a thumbs up to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for its decisions regarding proposed $13 billion proposal to upgrade Interstate 81. Writing in the Times-Dispatch, they laud the more limited plan that targets specific bottlenecks and safety hazards. The new plan, they say:
- Places a priority on identifying and improving safety “hot spots,” recognizing that serious problems exist in relatively few places;
- Places a priority on identifying points, such as exit ramps, where relatively small improvements can relieve significant congestion;
- Supports prompt improvements to parallel rail lines to divert additional trucks as soon as possible;
- Endorses comprehensive study of rail improvements in and out of Virginia, to determine the maximum feasible diversion of trucks to rail; and
- Requires that all highway construction, whether related to safety or congestion, use a “context sensitive” approach that minimizes damage to affected communities and the environment.
As positive as the CTB position is, the board needs to stretch a little further. As the authors say, the new plan:
- Overlooks many of the most effective safety measures, including ncreased enforcement of speed limits;
- Overlooks improvements to local street networks to provide local traffic a better alternative to I-81;
- Fails to consider the obvious link between transportation and land-use planning; and Grossly underestimates the environmental damage idening I-81 would cause.
At least they’re learning.
(Mitchell serves on the Virginia Rail Advisory Board. Pollard directs the Land & Community Program at the Southern Environmental Law Center.)