Study: U.S. 460 project would cost $1.8 billion

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/09/study-us-460-project-would-cost-18-billion



Gov. Bob McDonnell’s top transportation priority is forging a public-private partnership to rebuild U.S. 460 between Suffolk and Petersburg. The goal is to provide an alternative to the notoriously congested harbor tunnels and Interstate 64, and to support economic growth in the corridor and at the ports.

Study: U.S. 460 project would cost $1.8 billion
By Dave Forster
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 25, 2014

The steep financial and environmental costs of building a new 55-mile highway from Hampton Roads to Petersburg grew even starker in a new assessment by state and federal agencies.

That road, as planned under a $1.4 billion public-private contract that has since been halted, is estimated in the study to cost $1.8 billion and destroy 613 acres of wetlands - about 130 acres more than a prior tally. The previous estimate was already high enough to derail the project earlier this year before construction started, after nearly $300 million was spent.

The findings came in a review of five potential alignments for the Route 460 Corridor Improvements Project as state officials regroup and try to find a solution that can pass muster with federal permitters. The Virginia Department of Transportation will take public comment on the assessment, which was also prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Highway Administration, before officials select a preferred choice, likely by early 2015.

Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne said the results lend support to the probability that the state's decision will focus on improving the existing road.