Virginia bill gives tolling power to two regions

Regional authorities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are given tolling & concession powers in HB3202 a complex and much fought over transport funding bill passed by the Virginia legislature Apr 4.

Major focus in the mainstream media coverage has been the bill's increases in taxes, although tolls offer far greater potential for raising new revenue that the rather minor proposed increases the tax on motor vehicle insurance premiums and in the state diesel fuel tax.

The bill establishes a new Hampton Roads Transportation Authority (HRTA) to conduct tolling in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads area, and it specifically adds tolling powers to the existing but so far unfunded Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA).

NVTA's powers are amended in this bill to provide it the power of (15.2-4840.7): "Imposing, collecting, and setting the amount of tolls for use of facilities in the area embraced by the Authority, when the facility is either newly constructed or reconstructed by or under the direction of the Authority in such a way as to increase the facility's traffic capacity, with the amount of any tolls variable by time of day, day of the week, vehicle size or type, number of axles, or other factors as the Authority may deem proper, and with all tolls to be used exclusively in connection with the facility for whose use they are collected;..."

HRTA

Hampton Roads based on Norfolk is Virginia's second largest metro area (1.57m in 2002 census). HRTA is constituted as a classic public sector toll authority. In the familiar legalese it is "hereby created as a body politic and as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth (state of Virginia)." (Anyone know what a "body impolitic" would look like? Email us please. TRnews)

Tolling is mentioned as the first function of HRTA: "§ 33.1-391.8. Powers of the Authority.

"Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this title and in accordance with all applicable federal statutes and requirements, the Authority shall control and operate and may impose and collect tolls in amounts established by the Authority for the use of any new or improved highway, bridge, tunnel, or transportation facility to increase capacity on such facility (including new construction relating to, or improvements to, the bridges, tunnels, roadways, and related facilities known collectively as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) as described in § 33.1-391.12, pursuant to the conditions set forth in such section) constructed by the Authority or with funds provided in whole or in part by the Authority."

This would end the independent status of the CBBT Authority.

Local officials have long had plans for extensive new tolling in the Hampton Roads area, much of it to support expansion of the bridge-tunnel crossings of Hampton Roads, the name given to the great harbor of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News and other port settlements now agglomerated, around the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, and grown into Virginia Beach. see http://www.americasfirstregion.com (Contrary to Boston braggadocio the US really began not with the johnny come lately puritans landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620 but in Tidewater Virginia thirteen years earlier with the first British settlement at Jamestown. The area's claim to be the birthplace of modern America was buttressed by the surrender of the British army to Gen George Washington and the French in 1781 which secured American independence at Yorktown, also in the Hampton Roads area.)

Six projects developed

Six toll projects are being developed in the Hampton Roads region costing some $9b, several of them as private sector toll concessions. see http://www.hrpdc.org/

The largest is the Third Crossing project more than doubling capacity (from 4 to 10 lanes) alongside the Monitor Merrimack Bridge Tunnel on I-664 and developing a new T-planset of roads along the new port area of Crane Island with connections via a new tunnel alongside the Norfolk Naval Base with connections to I-64 in the east costing about $4.2b.

US460 a realignment and upgrade to expressway standard costing some $1.5b would provide a new connection to I-95 near Petersburg, and a Southeast Parkway would provide mobility in an expanding southeast fringe area and a new connection between the Virginia Beach area and the expressway network. The existing Midtown Tunnel in Norfolk and Martin Luther King Blvd would be widened for $550m. There is also major widening of I-64 on the southside where it forms both an east-west route and part of a belt route ($1.1b) and on the northern Peninsula where it heads to Williamsburg and Richmond ($0.6b).

Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) has been producing detailed 'packages' of tolls and tax support with consultants - Charles River Associates doing the traffic and revenue - and doing many public presentations. They say that tolls alone won't fund these projects but they are working with private concessionaires to raise billions in capital from tolls.

Under one proposal a low tolls/tax package would generate $400m in annual revenues, a third about $130m/yr in tolls and the remaining $270m/yr from a 0.5c local sales tax, 8c/gal in local gas and diesel tax and motor vehicle registration and sales taxes.

With revenue optimized toll rates 322k tolls/day would be collected, but they seem to be opting for lower tolls and revenues, larger traffic volumes 523k/day plus the substantial tax based subsidies.

The formation of a regional authority would give the region the option to do traditional public toll operations as well as to have the authority supervise concessions. Given the extensive studies of toll projects and public presentations of the case for tolling by the regional planning commission in Hampton Roads it would probably staff the HR Transportation Authority at least in its early years the way the Bay Area Toll Authority is staffed by the Metropoiitan Transportation Commission in the San Francisco area.

Mandates for highway speed electronic tolling

The bill also provides that from mid-2008 all newly constructed or substantially upgraded toll facilities must employ full highway speed electronic tolling, although cash collection may be retained alongside.

"The amount of any such toll may be varied from facility to facility, by lane, by congestion levels, by day of the week, time of day, type of vehicle, number of axles, or any similar combination thereof, and a reduced rate may be established for commuters as defined by the Authority. For purposes of this section, the Midtown and Downtown tunnels located within the Cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth shall be considered a single transportation facility and both facilities may be tolled if improvements are made to either tunnel. Any tolls imposed by the Authority shall be collected by an electronic toll system that, to the extent possible, shall not impede traffic flow. For all roads tolled by the Authority, there shall be signs erected prior to the point of toll collection that clearly state how the majority of the toll revenue for the particular road is being spent by the Authority."

NVTA so far transit obsessed

NVTA was created mid-2002 by the Virginia legislature as a metro plan organization and as a lobbyist for grants from the state and federal governments but it also has powers to build and operate transport facilities.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority has sixteen members: the mayors or chairs, or their designees, of the cities of Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park and Arlington,Prince Willliam, Fairfax and Loudoun counties that are members of the Authority; two members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House; one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections; and two local citizens appointed by the Governor.

NVTA was given power to acquire land and contract for construction of transport facilities and operate them.

Under mission is this: "The policies and priorities shall be guided by performance-based criteria such as the ability to improve travel times, reduce delays, connect regional activity centers, improve safety, improve air quality, and move the most people in the most cost-effective manner. The Authority shall report annually its expenditures to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Northern Virginia."

From the beginning it has had the responsibility of doing concessions: "Acting as a 'responsible public entity' for the purpose of the acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance and/or operation of a 'qualifying transportation facility' under the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995."

see http://www.novaregion.org/novatrans/novatransmission.htm

To date NVTA has shown little interest in reducing congestion or improving general mobility but instead has stressed "multimodal choices," "intermodal connections" "mode share improvements" "improved non-motorized travel options" and "activity center connections", planners codewords for trying to justify new rail lines. A clear anti-road bias is indicated in reduction of VMT (road vehicle miles traveled) being described as a positive by which projects should be judged!

see http://www.novaregion.org

for the 25 year plan and its emphasis on spending pubic money on minor and declining modes see http://www.novaregion.org/novatrans/pdf/TransAction2030Final.pdf

Northern Virginia had 2.16m people in 2005, almost a quarter of the state.

NVTA's proposed 2030 road system in the longterm plan named TransAction 2030 shows planning for seriously increased congestion. Slightly less than half its approved $15.4b corridor capital program 2004-2030 is for highways, though these provide about 95% of total transport service. (Table 12 p137). It wants $910m/yr average for transit vs $847m/yr for highways. (5.3 p149)

Bill requires "cost effective" projects 

HB3202 requires that NVTA construct "projects that move the most people or commercial traffic in the most cost-effective manner" which may constrain its pursuit of rail boondoggles.

The NVTA is also required to do toll concessions wherever possible: "The Authority shall avail itself of the strategies permitted under the Public-Private Transportation Act whenever feasible and advantages." (483)

TOLLROADSnews 2007-04-09