Tag: U.S. 460
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Horse Gone, Search Ensues to Find Out Who Should Have Closed the Door
by James A. Bacon A new question has arisen about the proposed $1.4 billion upgrade to U.S. 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk. Once the McDonnell administration ascertained that none of the three public-private partnership proposals on the table were viable and that the state would operate the road instead, why didn’t the Virginia Department of…
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Picking up the Pieces of the U.S. 460 Fiasco
by James A. Bacon Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said today he suspended work on the U.S. 460 Connector project because he didn’t want to run the risk of paying the contractor millions of dollars for work on a project that might be radically revised. The state of Virginia has spent $300 million already on the proposed…
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Busy Day at the CTB
Many meaty stories from the Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting today. It will take me a long time to do them all justice, so, for the moment, I will settle for whetting your appetite with the highlights. The Charlottesville Bypass is dead. It may not be buried — a few ritual oblations remains — but it…
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Can McAuliffe Thread the U.S. 460 Needle?
Will Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe reverse one of the biggest legacies of the McDonnell administration, construction of the new U.S. 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk? The $1.4-billion, Interstate-grade highway, upon which the McDonnell administration has already lavished $200 million, has cleared all significant hurdles but one: approval by the Army Corps of Engineers. But the project…
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Will Wetlands Controversy Swamp the Commonwealth Connector?
The Virginia Department of Transportation has spent $192 million on design and other work on the U.S. 460 Connector but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has yet to give a permit for the project, which would destroy an estimated 480 acres of wetlands. VDOT officials quoted by the Virginian-Pilot‘s Dave Foster say work is…
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Dem Congressmen Urge Delay of U.S. 460
In a letter dated yesterday, one day before the McDonnell administration announced the closing of the $1.4 billion U.S. 460 upgrade, Virginia’s three Democratic congressmen urged state and local officials to delay implementation of the project to make sure it is “properly viewed and analyzed.” The tolled highway between Suffolk and Petersburg would carry only…
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U.S. 460 Upgrade a Done Deal
The McDonnell administration has closed on a deal to finance, design and build a new U.S. 460 between Suffolk and Petersburg, providing the Hampton Roads region an interstate-quality alternative to Interstate 64 to connect with the interstate highway system. The $1.4 billion project has been justified as a cost-effective way to promote the competitiveness of…
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Uh, Oh, Irresistible Force Meets Immovable Object
The $1.4 billion U.S. 460 Connector has hit a roadblock: The Army Corps of Engineers is not ready to sign off on the route selected by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), reports Dave Forster with the Virginian-Pilot. VDOT’s proposed route for the Interstate-grade highway, which would parallel the existing U.S. 460, is not the…
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New Criticisms of the U.S. 460 Connector
by James A. Bacon The state of Virginia is putting $400 million more of its own cash — $1.18 billion in all — into the U.S. 460 Connector under a recently announced deal financing than it would have under a public-private partnership contemplated two years ago, writes Peter Samuel, proprietor of Toll Road News in…
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CTB Advances $1.4 Billion U.S. 460 Project
With a new financing plan, the interstate-grade U.S. 460 Connector is a go as the McDonnell administration touts the highway’s economic development potential.
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CTB Takes Next Step on 460 Connector
The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) formally authorized today the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to set up a 63-20 corporation capable of issuing bonds for construction of the U.S. 460 Connector between Suffolk and Petersburg. VDOT chose the quasi-state entity as the vehicle for building the interstate-grade highway, estimated to cost about $1.8 billion, because…
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CTB Approves $80 Million Line of Credit for 460 Connector
by James A. Bacon The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved Wednesday the granting of an $80 million line of credit for the U.S. 460 Connector project. That sum will be subordinate to any bonds issues to pay for the road, meaning that if toll revenues fail to meet projections, the state funds will be tapped to…
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VDOT Restructures U.S. 460 Financing — Public Private Partnership Is Out
by James A. Bacon Having concluded that the U.S. 460 Connector cannot be financed under a public-private partnership (P3) arrangement, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has opted to pursue the $1.5 billion-to-$2 billion project as “63-20” nonprofit corporation. U.S. 460, which would provide Hampton Roads an interstate-quality alternative to Interstate 64, would have insufficient…
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McDonnell Still Plugging Port Development Subsidies
Governor Bob McDonnell is campaigning hard for an amendment to the 2013-2014 budget that would provide grants to companies locating in the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone. A press release from the Governor’s Office lists more than 30 local governments, Chambers of Commerce and other groups, from the Virginia Manufacturers Association to…
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Virginia Ports Need More than Rail to Handle Cargo Growth
by James A. Bacon In Mid-March the MSC Roma paid a stop at the Port of Virginia. Setting a record for a container ship in Virginia waters, the vessel drew 48 1/2 feet when it departed with export-bound containers. Virginia was the only port on the East Coast with channels deep enough to handle the…