Six-Year Transportation Plan Worse Than N. Va. Leaders Expected

By Jonathan Wilson

When it comes to road projects, primary roads get the headlines. It makes sense, primary roads are the ones large and heavily trafficked enough to get numbered by the state, like Route 29.

But at Wednesday night's public hearing before Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board, it was a lack of funding for projects on smaller, secondary roads, that had Loudoun Supervisor Kelly Burk sounding the alarm.

"It is unconscionable that the fifth-fastest growing locality in the United States, Loudoun County, will receive $1,024 over the next six years toward its secondary road system," says Burk.

And Loudoun isn't the only county complaining.

Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova says her county is only set to receive about $1,900 from the state for secondary road projects over the same time period.

"This is unsustainable," Bulova told the board, "and effectively brings the county's secondary road program to a halt."

The state's proposed six-year improvement plan (SYIP) calls for $7.7 billion in transportation spending over the next six years, a 10 percent decrease from the six-year plan adopted last summer.