Category: Transportation
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A Tale Of Two Bridge Projects
by Kerry Dougherty Some would say it’s not fair to compare the rapid repairs to a hurricane-damaged bridge in Florida to the desultory progress of the Laskin Road bridge project in Virginia Beach. I don’t care. For those of us getting our cars realigned every few months and learning to zigzag as we attempt to…
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The Greens, Their Quiet Partners, and Trains
by James C. Sherlock I love trains. Always have. Took my first train ride at a very young age with my mother and brother from D.C. to Birmingham to visit mom’s family. After the Navy, my private sector work was based in McLean. I had regular business in New York I took Amtrak whenever feasible.…
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Last Passenger on the Titanic
by James A. Bacon The good news regarding the Silver Line extension of the Washington Metro rail system to Washington Dulles International Airport is that the service is fiiinnaally scheduled to commence in October after four years of construction delays. The bad news is that Metro might not have enough rail cars in service to…
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Great Moments in the Annals of Virginia Transportation
by James A. Bacon Two recent news nuggets provide a juxtaposition that calls into question the sanity of Virginia’s transportation policy. Item #1: The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will pay the lead contractor on the long-delayed Silver Line rail extension $207 million more as part of an agreement reached in July, reports The Washington…
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Will Virginia Be Ruled from Sacramento?
by Kerry Dougherty Turns out former Gov. Ralph Northam is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only do Virginia’s school children continue to suffer academically because of Northam’s hasty, hysterical and prolonged school closures, but most of us were shocked this week to learn that California’s boneheaded new rules regarding a draconian move to…
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Too Much Money for Roads?!?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Although gas prices have receded substantially from the levels that sent everyone into a tizzy earlier this year, Governor Youngkin has not given up on his proposal to lower gas taxes. Now, however, his rationale for the cut is different. According to veteran reporter Dave Ress, in an article that appeared in…
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Bacon Bits: Your Tax Dollars at Work
The Big Dig ain’t got nothing on us. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board has approved $250 million in additional funding to pay for cost overruns on Phase II of the Silver Line rail project, which, incidentally, was supposed to begin service in 2018, and Metro officials now hope will begin this fall. Fairfax…
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Unfair Competition for Uber, Lyft and Taxis
by Kerry Dougherty In its never-ending quest to meddle in the free market, the City of Virginia Beach on Wednesday will launch a gimmicky free ride-sharing service at the oceanfront, guaranteed to hurt local Uber, Lyft and taxi drivers. But who cares about those scrambling to make some scratch in the gig economy, am I…
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Dropping? Nope, Gas Tax Now Rises July 1
by Steve Haner Virginia’s gasoline and diesel taxes will rise 7% on July 1, about three more cents per gallon when all the elements of the tax are combined. This is the inflation-driven cost of living adjustment which Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and most legislative Republicans tried to short circuit, but which was preserved by…
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California Proposing More EV Rules for Virginia
by Steve Haner Virginia’s auto industry overlords in California have a new set of proposed mandates for both electric and internal combustion vehicles which, once adopted, will automatically apply here in the Commonwealth. They do not advance the date for banning the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles earlier than 2035 but do increase…
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Only Part of the Gas Tax Would Be Suspended
by Steve Haner The gas tax in Virginia today is 33.8 cents per gallon and the diesel tax is 34.7 cents per gallon. The fresh proposal from Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) for a 90-day suspension of those taxes does not eliminate Virginia’s full fuel tax bite. The oft-ignored wholesale tax will remain while only the…
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A Budget Deal Emerges
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports there is an agreement on the state budget. There have been hints in the news about it all week, with the General Assembly announcing that it would come back to Richmond June 1 to take up various measures. All the details will not be available until late Sunday…
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Hey, Buddy, What’s Your Friggin’ Problem?
by James A. Bacon Based on anecdotal evidence, I have long thought that the rudest, most aggressive drivers in the United States resided in the Northeastern states. It turns out, based on insurance data, that Virginia has some of the worst drivers in the country. So much for our self-image as courteous ladies and gentlemen.…
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Talking Out of Both Sides of Their Mouths
by Dick Hall-Sizemore While perusing today’s edition of the Roanoke Times, I ran across an article that astounded me. It concerned a meeting recently in Southwest Virginia about the Coalfields Expressway. I remembered hearing about this proposed highway many, many years ago and thought that it had been dismissed as a pipe dream. It turns…
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Does This Highway Need to be Widened to Six Lanes?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore There is a campaign underway to expand a stretch of I-64 from Richmond to James City County. Currently, the Interstate highway is a four-lane divided highway. The proposal is to add an additional lane in each direction. The Department of Transportation estimates the cost of the project at $750 million. The first…