The Meadowcreek Parkway Funding Challenge

The

Virginia General Assembly

starts their special session on transportation today. While local projects like the

Meadowcreek Parkway

aren’t on the mind of many lawmakers in Richmond, rapidly rising funding estimates for the cost of this road are getting increasing attention by our local officials.

In Albemarle, funds previously set aside for Jarmans Gap Road and Georgetown Road may soon be diverted to the Parkway.

In advance of the special session, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads representatives have been trying to secure approval for local tax increases in an effort to fund their priority transportation projects. According to the

Washington Post

, those efforts failed in the House Finance Committee yesterday.

“…a decisive majority of lawmakers on the committee — including six from Fairfax and Prince William counties — voted against raising taxes to finance the plan, most of them saying the state can pay for roads through existing revenue or bond sales.”

Other bills championed by House Speaker William Howell seeking to address the links between land use and transportation decisions were deferred to the 2007 session. The

Richmond-Times Dispatch

described this outcome as due, in part, to “the muscle of a homebuilding industry that has resisted caps on growth and new fees on construction to finance road improvements.”

Similar funding strategies have been recommended by our local

Transportation Funding Options Working Group

, a task force with diverse representation that included the Chamber of Commerce, the local realtors’ association, UVA, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Their October 2005 recommendations for ways to secure funding for over $100 million in priority projects may get a fresh look by local officials after the General Assembly completes this special session

.

While there were not any bills* for this special session related to Charlottesville and

Albemarle’s transportation priorities

, local officials have told our General Assembly delegation that the

Meadowcreek Parkway needs their attention this week.

The Parkway’s funding challenges were most recently discussed at last week’s monthly meeting of the the Policy Board of the

Metropolitan Planning Organization

[

see agenda

].

During the Policy Board’s discussion [podcast below] of the first draft of their annual priority statement for presentation before the

Commonwealth Transportation Board

(public hearing on October 25, 2006 for the 2008-2013 VDOT Six-Year Improvement Program), Board members discussed the

Meadowcreek Parkway

, the Western 29 Bypass, and the Fontaine Avenue/Sunset Connector.

In the discussion, Dennis Rooker, Chairman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, shared updated figures on the funding deficit for the City and County portions of the Meadowcreek parkway.

In the table below, you can see Mr. Rooker’s estimates that indicate an additional $9.7 million is needed before the project can begin as scheduled in June 2008.

Meadowcreek Parkway Section	Cost of Project	Previous Funding Allocated	6-Year Plan Allocation	Balance to Complete
County’s portion	$25,500,000	$18,222,932	$2,673,520	$4,603,548
City’s Portion	$13,500,000	$8,419,000	$0	$5,081,000
Interchange at Rt. 250	$26,500,000	Federal commitment	n/a	—
TOTAL	$65,500,000	—	—	$9,684,548