$10 Million For Port Road Expansion
Brent Finnegan -- January 22nd, 2010
The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved funds for a construction project to widen Port Republic Road in Rockingham County for access to the new RMH.
TV3 and the Daily News-Record report that Branch Highways Inc. of Roanoke was awarded a $10.1 million contract to widen Port near the new hospital. According to those reports, the project, which will include a sidewalk and bike lane, may not be completed until 2012 — a year and a half after the new hospital is scheduled to open.
Details are still being hashed out.
In 2008, Port Road improvement projects were projected to cost $26 million — more than twice as much as the price tag announced by the CTB yesterday. At that time, local politicians said there was no money in the state budget for road expansion near RMH.
Someone with more knowledge of these sorts of projects care to shed some light on the disparity between those two numbers? Is this even the same project? Where did this money come from?
The improvements to Port Road were originally packaged by VDOT bypass between S. Main and Rt. 33E via the backdoor of RMH. Our local representatives (Lohr, Obenshain, Saxman, Landes, Gilbert) would not fund VDOT, so…. The Port Road widening is being paid for by Federal Stimulus money.
Evil socialism at work!
Why in the world do they wait until the last minute to ask for the money. They’ve known about this project for YEARS!
And they’ve been attempting to secure funds for years…but they don’t want to either raise taxes or cut government, so the project went unfunded.
The money is only now available due to the Stimulus plan passed last year. Yes, shovel ready means it takes a year to award the project.
The disparity in numbers is a product of the economy. Supply and demand at work. Road building contractors have been making their living on subdivisions and large commercial grading projects that have dried up during the recession. Bottom line, they are hungry and need the work.
They’ve asked for the money for years Bandit, local delegates and senators signed a pledge however not to seek the funds necessary to do the job. It took stimulus money from a program by someone who the majority in this area hates to make it happen that they will be able to access the hospital.
The road should be named Barack Obama Life Saving Highway.
Lowell
Its a perfect system. The unprogressive party promises not to do anything if elected, they get elected, they do nothing, people get upset and elect progressives who do things (like fund road projects), the people forget life before improvements, the people get mad that they have to pay for progress, the people elect the unprogressives who promise not to make them pay for anything, rinse repeat.
Lowell…seriously? That’s just over-the-top posturing ;)
Well Phil, no use doing anything half way. :o)