Senator Kenneth Cuccinelli's (R-37) budget amendment that would have reduced Virginia's contribution to the Woodrow Wilson Replacement Bridge by up to $500 million is probably dead, according to opponents.
Cuccinelli introduced the measure as an amendment to the budget. The Senate Finance Committee has taken no action on the amendment.
"I really don't think it's going to go anywhere," said Senator Patricia "Patsy" Ticer (D-30). "When Sen. Cuccinelli approached me about this, I told him that we had discussed this issue many years ago and that many people had been involved. It is time to move forward. Virginia has made a commitment to fund our share of this project and we need to live up to that commitment. Many of us supported a 10-lane bridge but that isn't what happened. We must move forward."
The proposal would have scaled back the project from the proposed 12 lanes to 10 lanes. "Even if Maryland and the Federal Highway Administration go forward with 12 lanes, Virginia could still reduce its part to 10 lanes," said Bert Ely, the legislative chairman of the Coalition for a Sensible Bridge, an Alexandria-based advocacy group that has continued to oppose the 12-lane structure.
"The current project only calls for 10 lanes of regular vehicular traffic. The other two can only be used for HOV lanes or for rail and that is decades away if it ever happens."
Ely said that even with the cost of reengineering that would be required for a scaled-back bridge, the savings would be around $400 million. "With the current state of Virginia's fiscal affairs, that's a lot of money," Ely said.
"The bridge has been under construction for two and a half years," said John Undeland, director of public affairs for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project. "Scaling back the project now would be like recalling the Space Shuttle after it had been in the air for 15 minutes.
"The other issue is that the $1.6 billion in federal funds is a specially designated appropriation. If the project is changed that money could not be spent because it would be a violation of federal law."
MAYOR KERRY J. DONLEY believes that the proposal is flawed. "We fought very hard for a 10-lane bridge but we lost and it's time to move on," he said. "I am not sure that scaling back the project at this time would realize any savings at all and those savings certainly wouldn't be seen in the current fiscal year.
"In addition to the lack of financial analysis that went into this proposal, there has been no real traffic analysis either. The project could well be extended by two years because of the need to redo the environmental impact study. With the age of the current bridge, that could mean weight restrictions. Weight restrictions could mean that we would see 18-wheelers rolling through Alexandria up Route 1 because they can't use the bridge.
"Also, scaling back the project would negate the settlement that the city reached with the Federal Highway Administration. This would eliminate a number of benefits that the city will get now," Donley said.
Ely will continue to lobby in Richmond. "Budget amendments are never totally off the table until the budget is passed," he said. "That means we have all of February to talk to members of the legislature."