DALLAS – A proposal for a $2.1 billion public-private partnership to add tolled express lanes to Interstate 66 outside the Capital Beltway in northern Virginia would be the most effective way to reduce congestion in the area, state highway planners said last week.
A ranking of more than 300 road proposals from local governments and planning organizations found that the I-66 lanes would reduce travel times and provide more access to jobs and public transit than any other single project, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
The top ranking of the I-66 toll lanes should result in an allocation of $300 million from the $500 million of road funds it plans to dedicate to northern Virginia in fiscal 2017, VaDOT said.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will decide in June which projects will be added to the state's six-year road plan.
The prioritization of highway proposals is required under House Bill 2, a state law passed in 2014 that mandated a statewide review and ranking of projects funded by the CTB.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the procedure ensures that the state's limited transportation funding is invested in the best projects.
"Political wish lists of the past are replaced with a data-driven process that is objective and transparent, making the best use of renewed state funding received in 2013 and the recently approved federal transportation funding," he said. "Each project is scored based on its merits and value, making Virginia the first state in the nation to use such an outcome-based prioritization process."
Virginia changed its transportation funding system in 2013 to replace the volume-based fuel excise taxes with a 3.5% sales tax on the wholesale price of gasoline and a 6% tax on diesel fuel. The measure also raised the commonwealth's sales and use tax to 5.3% from 5%, and increased vehicle title fees.
The changes were expected to bring in a total of $20.25 billion of transportation revenues through fiscal 2019, but a revised forecast in December lowered the anticipated revenues to $19.3 billion.
More than 130 localities and metropolitan planning organizations submitted proposed projects totaling nearly $7 billion in funding, said Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne. About $1.7 billion will be available.
"The prioritization process improves the transparency and accountability of Virginia's transportation program," Layne said.
Projects in the northern Virginia and Hampton Road areas score higher if they reduce congestion, while projects in other parts of the state score higher if they support economic development.
The state intends to use a public-private partnership to finance the system of high-occupancy toll lanes on a 25-mile stretch of I-66 through Fairfax and Prince William counties. The existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes on both sides of the road would be converted to tolls, and a second express toll lane in each direction would be built.
The private partner is expected to be selected later this year with a financial close in early 2017, but state Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said the public option would remain available during financial negotiations with the private sector.
Virginia limited its contribution to a potential P3 arrangement for the new express lanes at $600 million last year after a preliminary analysis found the state could be responsible for up to $1 billion of the estimated $2.1 billion cost.
Three private-sector teams are on the short list as potential partners. All three proposals capped the state's share at $600 million and included a pledge of at least $350 million from toll revenues to fund improvements and upgrades within the highway corridor.
The express lanes are to be operational by 2021.
