Virginia

2012-06-26: The collapse of components of an approach span under construction at the Elizabeth River in South Norfolk looked from photographs to be quite serious when we first reported this Sunday. Local TV footage showed bridge segments askew every which way up above and a major debris field of damaged and broken concrete below.

The collapse of components of an approach span under construction at the Elizabeth River in South Norfolk looks from photographs to be quite serious. Local TV footage showed bridge segments askew every which way above and a major debris field of damaged and broken concrete below.

2012-06-24: The collapse of components of an approach span under construction at the Elizabeth River in South Norfolk looks from photographs to be quite serious. The companies who are partnered with a private investor group have made no comment yet, but local TV footage shows bridge segments askew every which way above and a major debris field of damaged and broken concrete below.

David LaRock of the Opt Out movement for the end of the line has a new presentation of the case for keeping rail out of the Dulles Greenway. The decision is up to Loudoun County commissioners who could vote on the issue within a month.

The group argues the list of potential harms and risk are substantial, but the benefit of opting out and allowing rail to come to Rt 28 (the edge of the county) is also substantial.

2012-06-20: Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell has fired a labor racketeer from the board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) whose major source of revenue is the Dulles Toll Road - Dennis Martire, 48, the local Mid Atlantic region manager, vice president and member of the general executive board of LiUNA, the Laborers international Union of North America.

2012-06-06: The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority after nearly two years of insisting on union-preferences in its construction contracts today executed an abrupt policy U-turn, voting 11 to 1 to go to procurement without the favor for unions - termed a 'project labor agreement' (PLA.)

2012-06-04: Crude cash based toll systems don't arouse equity concerns when tolls are low, but push them up to what the traffic will bear - to revenue maximizing levels - and people look much more closely.

2012-05-29: Virginia DOT is restarting the six year long effort to do a toll project to build a new 55 mile, 89km expressway along the US460 corridor between I-95/295 near Petersburg and Suffolk in the Hampton Roads area. The project costed at between $1500m and $2000m is fully permitted along a route generally just south of the existing 4-lane undivided surface arterial US460 which constitutes a main street for six small settlements along the way.

2012-05-23: The new Dominion Boulevard US17 tolls in Chesapeake VA will be $1.00 for cars with  an E-ZPass transponder and $3.00 for those without who therefore need to have their license plates read and be 'video tolled' by mail. 3 axle-trucks will pay $1.50 and $3.50 and 5-axle tractor trailers $2.50 and $4.50.

First video bills will bill the smaller E-ZPass toll if users sign up for a transponder account.

2012-04-23: Virginia secretary of transportation Sean Connaughton says there will be no more major highway construction projects in the state without tolls. He was speaking in an interview with TOLLROADSnews Friday. He said the costs of major transport projects needed in the state are far beyond the capacity of the gasoline tax and federal grants to fund.