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Virginia Governor's Race Hinges On Transportation

Posted by: Brenda Meyer

2 October 2005 - 1:00pm

Finding new revenue to fund the state's dire transportation needs is at the forefront of the gubernatorial race.

"Virginia has the third-largest state-maintained road system in the country, but funds to run and repair it are drying up. No wonder: The last governor to boost transportation funding significantly was Gerald L. Baliles a generation ago. Virginia's population and road usage have since boomed while the portion of the state's budget dedicated to transportation has dwindled. Over the next 20 years, the state expects to spend about $95 billion maintaining and expanding the transportation network; over the same period, the estimated need will be about $203 billion. The resulting shortfall of $108 billion amounts to nearly 40 times the state's total annual spending on transportation. Wear and tear is a particular problem; about a quarter of Virginia's major roads and bridges need repairs."

Full Story: A Gridlocked Debate
Source: The Washington Post, October 1, 2005
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Now, more than ever, Americans are clamoring to get out of their cars and have more transportation options than the car-centric approach first envisioned and deployed in the 1950s is providing.
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