Changes in VDOT cuts recommended

Around-the-clock James River ferry service and six interstate highway rest stops that were among 25 targeted for closure should be saved, state transportation officials said Wednesday.

Paying for the 24-hour Jamestown-Scotland ferry and the rest stops will mean VDOT will have to drop regular motorist-service patrols in Richmond and western Virginia, at a savings of $6.5 million a year.

The highway agency expects to see a $2.6 billion reduction in state and federal revenues during the next six years, Transportation Commissioner David S. Ekern said, forcing the department to make transforming cuts in its construction, services and staff.

And, Ekern said, “the last dollar is the hard dollar to find.“

To find a final $45 million in savings, after chopping $2 billion from the state’s six-year road-construction program and laying off about 1,000 VDOT workers by March, Ekern recommended that the Commonwealth Transportation Board reduce highway service patrols, ferry service, roadside mowing, and the number of Virginia’s interstate rest areas. If the board approves the reductions, they will take effect July 1.

For an increase in the state gasoline tax of “a dime a day or less,“ McCarthy said, “we wouldn’t be talking about this at all.“

The ferry and rest-area cuts drew strong opposition.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine ordered the busy ferry service across the James River be maintained, while truckers, local officials and the state’s tourism industry hit the roof over the initially proposed closure of 25 of the state’s 42 rest areas.

Four of the rest areas saved from being shut down in July are on Interstate 81 in western Virginia—Radford southbound, Ironto northbound, Fairfield southbound and New Market northbound—while the other two are truck-only areas at Dale City in Northern Virginia.

“We’re pleased they addressed what was our main safety concern,“ said Dale Bennett with the Virginia Trucking Association, which objected to any reduction in the number of places for truckers to park and rest.

Shutting down any rest areas “is a disgrace,“ said Megan Svajda with the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association. “It’s still unfortunate that right in the midst of tourist season, they’re closing all these rest areas.“