Virginia's top priority is our future

October 1, 2012

The Washington Post editorializes, "Determined, and in many cases sworn, never to raise taxes for any purpose, the Republicans who control the General Assembly are standing idly by as Virginia's transportation infrastructure crumbles, along with its economic competitiveness. Conservatively, the state's hard-core transportation needs will outstrip available funds by $1 billion to $2 billion annually for the near future. To address that need, lawmakers plan to do, well, nothing."

Progressive Point: Virginia is badly in need of new home front investments in our future. That means leaders who put our priorities above politics and pledges. Virginia's roads and bridges are crumbling while families and business products are stuck in traffic but Richmond isn't doing anything about it.

Gov. McDonnell and his conservative allies refuse to fix our problems so that they can stubbornly stick to their political pledges. Businesses and families alike know that investment is vital to the economic success of our communities. That means not passing the buck on fixing roads, refusing to find revenue to pay for transportation, and taking a cuts-only approach that stymies economic growth. Virginia businesses and families' top priority is our future. Its time our leaders made theirs the same.

Get the Facts:

• This year, Virginia dropped from 10th to 33rd place in CNBC's ranking on state infrastructures and transportation, causing Virginia to lose it's position as the best state in the country to do business. "Infrastructure -- specifically the state's perpetually clogged highways -- has long been an issue in fast-growing Virginia, CNBC said." (Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 10, 2012)


• The president and CEO of Virginia's Chamber of Commerce called the lack of investment in infrastructure an "area of concern for business and policymakers" and that "We have to find a formula that will provide the funding that will keep up with the fast-paced growth of Virginia's economy." (Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 10, 2012)


• Virginia has not increased its main source of transportation funding, its gasoline tax, in a quarter of a century--causing inflation and more fuel-efficient cars to damage its revenue. (Washington Post, September 30, 2012)


• Currently Virginia spends about $2 billion for transportation construction, but in 4 years it will likely only have half of that with most of it coming from the federal government. During the same time period, transportation maintenance and operations costs are expected to climb steadily. (Washington Post, September 30, 2012)


• Over the next 20 years, Virginia will need "about $2 billion in transportation funds to support Dulles International Airport and nearby growth corridors," "up to $20 billion to improve freight mobility statewide," "perhaps $10 billion to expand and upgrade the port at Hampton Roads," "tens of billions of dollars more to repair pavement; fortify flimsy bridges; ensure the safety of transit systems; build new tunnels and bridges; install the latest technology; and -- most mundane of all, if not to millions of daily commuters -- come to grips with traffic." (Washington Post, September 30, 2012)

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