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Continued Revenue Decline Forces $1.5 Billion in Additional Cuts
RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jeff Caldwell- VDOT
804-786-2715 (office)
804-337-7264 (cell)
Jeffrey.Caldwell@vdot.virginia.gov
Jennifer Pickett – DRPT
804-786-7432 (office)
804-221-1853 (cell)
Jennifer.Pickett@drpt.virginia.gov
RICHMOND – The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) presented a draft Six-Year Improvement Program for Fiscal Years (FY) 2010-2015 today to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB). The total proposed program is $7.4 billion, down from $8.9 billion in the revised FY 2009-2014 budget approved three months ago.
The FY 2010-2015 budget reflects $650 million in cuts to the highway program and $880 million in reductions to rail and transit. The highway declines are largely a result of continued state and federal revenue shortfalls, while the transit and rail declines are mainly attributed to the transition of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which reduced the program by $776 million.
“The commonwealth is continually challenged to meet federal obligations and state maintenance requirements for our highway system while dealing with drastic declines in state and federal revenues,” said Pierce R. Homer, Virginia secretary of transportation. “We have been able to maintain our rail and transit programs and services.”
Transportation revenue reductions have forced the CTB to significantly reduce the six-year program over the past several years:
The Draft FY 2010-2015 Six-Year Improvement Program is available at www.VirginiaDOT.org, and includes proposed project cut lists for interstate, primary, secondary and urban roadways. Details of the rail and transit program are available at www.drpt.virginia.gov.
VDOT also applied previously allocated but unused dollars from interstate projects to fund two major ready-to-go projects in order to match federal funds for FY 2009. More than $97 million from projects with phases that were not currently under way was reallocated in order to complete the I-95 bridge rehabilitation and I-64 paving projects in the Richmond District.
“After reducing the highway program by $2 billion in the revised FY 2009-2014 program, VDOT is again faced with more program funding challenges,” said VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern, P.E. “VDOT is stretching every dollar to ensure federal and state obligations are met, and using available funds to keep projects that can move forward progressing as quickly as possible.”
Funding Reductions for Highway Program from the FY 2009-2014 Revised Program to the Proposed FY 2010-2015 Program Interstate: $1.4 billion to $1.3 billion
Primary: $ 1.3 billion to $1.0 billion Secondary: $0.6 billion to $0.5 billion Urban: $0.5 billion to $0.4 billion
“While the reduction in available state rail, transit and commuter service funding in the draft FY2010-2015 program is primarily due to the reassignment of the Dulles Metrorail project, the transit and rail programs and services have been spared the drastic reductions of other areas of government,” said DRPT Director Charles M. Badger, P.E. Public Input Sought The Commonwealth of Virginia will host four public hearings across the state in June to receive public input on the Fiscal Years 2010-2015 Six-Year Improvement Program for highway, transit, rail and commuter service improvements.
CTB members will host the hearings and leaders from VDOT and DRPT will attend and provide information.
Public Hearings will be held at the following locations:
Monday, June 1, at 6 p.m.
VDOT Central Office Auditorium
1221 E. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23219
Hearing focus: Richmond, Culpeper and Fredericksburg Districts
Tuesday, June 2, at 7 p.m.
Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School
7130 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22043
Hearing focus: Northern Virginia and Staunton Districts
Wednesday, June 3, at 6 p.m.
Northside Middle School
6810 Northside High School Road.
Roanoke, VA 24019
Hearing focus: Salem, Bristol, Lynchburg, Staunton Districts
Thursday, June 4, at 6 p.m.
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
723 Woodlake Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23320
Meeting focus: Hampton Roads District
Written comments can be submitted to the following locations and must be received by June 12: Public Information Office Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation 600 E. Main St., Suite 2102 Richmond, VA 23219 drptpr@drpt.virginia.gov
Programming Director Virginia Department of Transportation 1401 E. Broad St. Richmond, VA 23219 six-yearprogram@vdot.virginia.gov
For more information, visit the CTB Web site at www.CTB.Virginia.gov, the VDOT Web site, www.VirginiaDOT.org, or the DRPT Web site at www.drpt.virginia.gov.
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Draft FY2010-FY2015 SYIP