Road projects supported

Published 10:30 pm Thursday, September 17, 2015

The widening of U.S. Route 58 from the western end of the Suffolk Bypass to west of Manning Road is one of four Suffolk projects that received support from the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization on Thursday.

The widening of U.S. Route 58 from the western end of the Suffolk Bypass to west of Manning Road is one of four Suffolk projects that received support from the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization on Thursday.

Four Suffolk transportation projects received support from the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization during its meeting Thursday.

The Route 58 widening, the park-and-ride on Godwin Boulevard, the Route 17 and Shoulders Hill Road intersection and the widening of the Mills Godwin Bridge all received resolutions of support from the regional transportation planning body, although the body chose three projects in other cities to submit as its priorities.

The lone Suffolk project that did not receive support was the Kings Highway Bridge replacement, because it is not in the region’s 2034 Long Range Transportation Plan.

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Local transportation projects are competing for about $120 million of regional money, as well as an additional $600 million of state money, said Robert A. Crum Jr., the new executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.

Those totals had been expected to be only $100 million and $500 million, but revenue projections have risen significantly.

For its regional priorities, the board chose, in order, the widening of Interstate 64 on the Peninsula, the widening of the same interstate on the Southside, and the improvement of the interchange of interstates 64 and 264.

All three projects will deliver an increase in the number of people the interstates can carry as well as decreases in hours lost for commuters and the rate of crashes that cause fatalities or serious injuries.

The widening of Interstate 64 on the Peninsula, especially, also has a good cost-to-benefit ratio, said Mike Kimbrel, principal transportation engineer for the HRTPO.

“We think this is a very strong project,” he said.

The three priority projects request $847.1 million from the new state funding source approved in 2014 by the General Assembly, which consisted of various tax hikes, in addition to previous state and federal allocations and additional requests from other pots of state money.

Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms wanted to see more of a regional commitment for some of the projects.

“Those zeros really stand out,” he said, referring to a chart showing the amount of funding from each entity.

Kimbrel also responded to a question about concerns that Hampton Roads wasn’t getting its fair share of the money.

“My opinion, it looks like we’re doing pretty well,” Kimbrel said, noting Hampton Roads is getting more than any other region besides Northern Virginia. Hampton Roads’ projected amount is $100 million, compared to only $103 million for the significantly larger Northern Virginia.

The city of Suffolk can still apply for money from the regional pot for its projects.

The Route 58 corridor improvements are estimated to cost $35 million for construction. The 3.1-mile strip would be widened to six lanes from the west end of the bypass to 4/5-mile west of Manning Bridge Road. A sidewalk and multi-use trail, intersection and drainage improvements and other features are included in the cost.

The intersection improvements at Route 17 and Shoulders Hill Road would cost $16 million. The intersection currently operates at a “D” level of service and is projected to reach a failing grade by 2018, according to the city letter.

The project would provide additional turn lanes and receiving lanes, stormwater improvements and pedestrian improvements. Previous funding by the Virginia Department of Transportation has been reallocated to other projects in each of the last two years, according to the letter.

The Godwin Boulevard park-and-ride improvements are priced at $380,000 and include stormwater management.

At $96 million, the Mills Godwin Bridge widening is the priciest project on the list. It provides for a second two-lane span of the Mills Godwin Bridge on Route 17. The current two-lane bridge on what is otherwise a four-lane road creates a bottleneck on a major detour route when an alternative to Interstate 664 is needed.