Connaughton Talks Transportation Improvements

Traffic in Northern Virginia, especially through the Interstate 95 corridor, is usually not a pleasant experience.

The daily commuter and frequent highway driver in Prince William County is no stranger to gridlock, road construction, lane closures and overnight paving operations.

In fact, The Daily Beast rated the I-95 southbound commute from I-395 to exit 148 at Quantico the fourth worst commute in the nation this past March.

But according to Secretary of Transportation Sean T. Connaughton, the road closures and constant construction is a good thing.

In a presentation to the Prince William Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Connaughton lauded the recent construction projects in the county and Northern Virginia as just the beginning.

The road construction season is only halfway through, said Connaughton. “There will be $600 million worth of maintenance done between now and December 1,” he said.

Connaughton, the former Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, knows what its like to commute. Although, as he joked on Wednesday, his commute is the opposite of most of the county; he heads south to Richmond while everyone else heads north into Washington, D.C.

With construction costs low and the state’s credit rate at a AAA rating, there have been an influx of projects planned.

Connaughton highlighted the extension of High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes from Route 234 to Aquia in Stafford County, widening routes 66 and 29 aßnd that the county will benefit from.

Progress on some of these projects is underway. Phase I of the 123/1 interchange is funded, and the congested roadway will be widened from the Occoquan River to Marumsco Plaza in spring of 2014.

Although Phase II is not fully funded yet, Connaughton noted that it does not mean the project will not be finished.

Connaughton said that when the projects came about the Commonwealth Transportation Board intentionally earmarked more projects that would on face-value cost more.

“As projects come in, we’re going to take those cost savings, that 17 to 40 percent, and put them on to the next project that might not yet be fully funded,” said Connaughton. “If prices keep on staying where they were, projects will be funded.”

Virginia Rail Express will also be getting improvements down to Spotsylvania County, said Connaughton. There will be an “HOT complementary” transit program will be implemented up and down I-95 with park-and-ride lots, details of which are to be announced.

Connaughton’s biggest goal for next year is to solve Virginia Department of Transportation’s maintenance problem that will be a “major positive impact to capital.”

“We transferring $400 to $500 million from capital to maintenance,” said Connaughton. “We need a sustainable fund to plug that hole that fixes maintenance and keeps up with secondary roads.”