Virginians for Better Transportation (VBT) is a diverse and expanding advocacy group of nearly 850 supporters, including nearly 200 businesses and associations across the state working to implement statewide, multi-modal transportation solutions through increased, dedicated and sustainable funding and responsible business practices.
I am here today to support the position of AAA and others participating in this press conference. We ask that the General Assembly not postpone a decision on the transportation funding issue.
It has been 20 years since the General Assembly addressed long-term funding for transportation in Virginia. Since then, we have seen congestion increase, the population increase, the number of vehicles increase, the number of vehicle miles traveled increase, and the buying power of those 1986 dollars decrease by almost 50 percent.
The resulting congestion and deterioration of the transportation system costs Virginians more than $4 billion every year due to increased fuel costs, lost time, greater incidence of accidents and more frequent repair bills.
Five years ago the General Assembly mandated that VDOT, VPA, DRPT and DOA create a comprehensive plan to determine Virginia’s transportation needs and the cost of those needs for the next 20 years. That report, called VTRANS 2025, was presented to the General Assembly more than two years ago and stated that over the next 20 years Virginia’s transportation infrastructure needs would be more than $100 billion dollars. Since being presented with that report, the General Assembly has provided a one-time payment of less than 1/100th of that need. We cannot afford to put off the decision on long-term, sustainable funding for transportation any longer.
For years the General Assembly authorized VDOT to borrow money to fund projects with the promise of a sustainable revenue stream to pay that debt service. That promise has not been consistently fulfilled. As a result, VDOT will have no choice but to take $175 million each year from local road projects to pay that debt.
The revenue from the gas tax to pay for maintenance of our roadways falls way short of our needs. As a result, VDOT must take more than $350 million from the highway construction program to pay for maintaining our roadways.
The law requires VDOT to conduct its planning for roads on a 20-year horizon. The law requires VDOT to develop a financing and programming plan for those projects on a six-year planning horizon. VDOT implements that plan with a two-year construction schedule. It is ironic that despite these requirements, some in the General Assembly want to provide any new funding on a year by year basis.
If we put off the decision on transportation funding, VDOT’s next six-year program will:
- Require that an additional $500 million or more come out of the construction program to fund debt and maintenance.
- Cut almost ¾ of a billion dollars from the construction program.
- Jeopardize our ability to meet federal obligation authority.
- Cause the delay in critical new construction projects.
- Jeopardize our commitments for transit and rail capital and expansion funds.
We cannot continue to fall behind. It’s time for the General Assembly to act to provide long-term sustainable funding for transportation that addresses these needs without compromising the funding of Virginia’s core services.
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