DALLAS — A $3.3 billion project to expand a subsea tunnel system at Hampton Roads, Va., will be financed with a combination of bonds, toll revenue, and gas tax revenue under a plan approved a regional planning agency.
The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization on Oct. 20 unanimously approved the expansion of the tunnels operated by the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to six lanes from the current four. It was the cheapest and smallest of the proposed alternatives.
The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, which is responsible for funding projects in the region, on the same day, approved an $8.3 billion financing plan through 2040 that includes the tunnel expansion and eight other regional projects.
The long-range plan includes: $4.9 billion of senior-lien bonds that would be issued by the planning agency and supported by the region's dedicated state gasoline sales tax; $347 million of junior-lien bonds supported by toll revenues from the new tunnel lanes; and $3 billion of pay-as-you-go funding from the gasoline tax and state contributions.
The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission has legal authority from the state to issue tax-exempt revenue bonds supported by the regional gas tax, but has never done so.
The commission voted in May to obtain judicial review and approval of a proposed indenture to provide bond proceeds to the Hampton Roads project and others if the funding is needed.
"The considerable lead time involved in preparing and judicially validating a legal and contractual structure for tax‐exempt Hampton Roads Regional Transportation Fund revenue bonds makes it advisable for the commission to authorize advancing judicial validation at this time," a spokesman said.
Virginia moved from a per-gallon gasoline tax in 2013 to a sales tax on motor fuels. The new system includes a 2.1% regional gasoline sales tax to fund transportation projects in the Hampton Roads region.
The 3.5-mile Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is a four-lane system — two in each direction — that carries Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60 beneath the main shipping channels for the Hampton Roads harbor in southeast Virginia. It includes tunnels, bridges, man-made islands, and trestles.
The system carries 3 million vehicles per month.
Work on the expansion project could begin in early 2018 with completion in 2024.
The existing bridges and tunnels would all be converted to carry westbound traffic from Norfolk to Hampton.
One of the existing tubes would have two free lanes while an express toll lane in the other tunnel would be tolled. A new tunnel and bridge system with one tolled lane and two free lanes would be built to move eastbound traffic from Hampton to Norfolk.
Vehicles with at least two passengers and a driver as well as transit buses could use the high-occupancy toll lanes at no charge. The toll would be variable, depending on the traffic congestion and time of day.
"We're making a step to move forward today," said Linda Johnson, chairwoman of the Hampton Roads planning organization and mayor of Suffolk, Va. "We have to start somewhere. This project is buildable, fundable, and addresses congestion relief."
The most expensive alternative considered by the planning board had a price tag of $12.5 billion and included almost a dozen projects.
Selecting the least-expensive option for the tunnel project will allow funding of other important gridlock-busting projects, said Bob Crum, executive director of transportation planning organization.
"While six lanes through the HRBT won't meet all of our needs, it'll improve movement," Crum said. "Combined with the other projects, we think we're starting to see a group of projects start to address the real congestion hot points in our region."
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will consider the proposal in December.
