The $1.4 billion U.S. 460 Connector has hit a roadblock: The Army Corps of Engineers is not ready to sign off on the route selected by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), reports Dave Forster with the Virginian-Pilot.
VDOT’s proposed route for the Interstate-grade highway, which would parallel the existing U.S. 460, is not the best option to minimize damage on wetlands, and the Corps will not permit the project until the matter is resolved. Among three routes examined, the Corps contends, the least environmentally damaging would be one that utilized the existing highway and added bypasses around several small communities.
But VDOT counters that the Corps’ plan is not financially feasible because it would be impractical to toll. Tolls account for more than $200 million of anticipated funding for the project. Moreover, VDOT’s route would offer improved safety, greater travel time savings and an additional hurricane evacuation route.
VDOT had planned to purchase wetlands credits from private mitigation banks to offset the wetlands destroyed by the project, according to Corps correspondence, but the Corps had not yet determined whether they would be deemed acceptable compensation.
VDOT has selected 460 Mobility Partners, comprised of Ferrovial Agroman, S.A. and American Infrastructure, to design and build the road. Design and right-of-way work on the 55-mile highway is scheduled to begin in 2103, with construction commencing in 2014.
— JAB
