I-81 Regional Transportation Authority

Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Mount Solon, is considering legislation that will study the creation of an I-81 Regional Transportation Authority. To find out more, check out this article by Bob Gibson of the Daily Progress.

Hanger believes the authority would be able to levy tolls but not raise taxes. It would oversee the entire road from Frederick County to Bristol. Apparently, the STAR Solutions plan is likely to be scrapped due to cost.

Hanger also believes that Regional Transportation Authorities are likely to play a big role in the future of transportation in the Commonwealth. He was quoted in the article as saying, “Tolls are an appropriate user fee that conservative Republicans can rally behind.”

In another article, Sen. Charles Hawkins was quoted as saying, "I think this is one of the most important things (transportation) we've got to deal with in the next 50 years, next hundred years."

He went on to say, "The people in the technology industry who are there (NOVA) for convenience - they don't have a history there, they don't have family ties - will start looking at options other than staying in Northern Virginia. Once you start that trend, Northern Virginia loses momentum, and that momentum has paid a lot of bills in Virginia, which helps our tax rate stabilize. ..."

Note to Sen. Hawkins - it's already happening. I work in a real estate related field in NOVA and I speak with 10-15 homeowners a week who are selling their homes. I would say at least 1 in 4 say they are moving out of the region because of traffic and congestion.