Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer told the Commonwealth Transportation Board on October 15th that state and federal transportation revenues will decrease $2.1- $2.6B leading to more cuts in the road and bridge construction plan over the next 6 years.
- Cuts will create delays or deletions of at least $1.1B worth of projects from the state's 6-year, $7.9B road construction plan.
- VDOT is forced to put priorities on maintenance, safety and emergency response.
- Transportation-related services will be cut and/or reduced: rest stops, mowing, repaving, line painting, highway signs, snow and ice removal, roadway lighting.
- VDOT will eliminate 900 FT jobs, offer early retirement, leave employee vacancies unfilled, consolidate offices, and close repair shops.
Cuts being made now will be permanent. The chief source of highway program revenues is gas and vehicle taxes. With more fuel efficient cars and less people driving due to the economy and high gas prices, officials do NOT expect gas or vehicle sales to rebound when the economy rebounds.
"We've gotten very good at reducing costs, cutting projects, slimming down programs; but we have not confronted a change this systemic, this long-lasting," Homer said.
"In the future, VDOT will be a smaller agency," he said. "We cannot afford to administer and deliver our services, programs and projects the same way we have in the past."
The 6-year federal highway and transit funding authorization ends with this fiscal year. What will happen as Congress reels from the effects of its $700B bailout of the financial services industry?
In just a few weeks, it’s become painfully evident: the economy has changed, the world has changed. We can’t afford to conduct “business as usual”.
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