Image captured from the 66alliance website.Citizen's group 66 Alliance chided members of the Virginia General Assembly for siding “with corporate special interests and against families, commuters and voters” in supporting VDOT's plans for tolling I-66 inside outside the Beltway.
However, one representative said that Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plan that considers the multi-transit options is Northern Virginia's best chance to reduce congestion on I-66.
"A shocking scene of 'highway robbery' is unfolding in the General Assembly this month," wrote 66 Alliance Found Greg Scott in a press release to the 1,000 plus members of his group, Monday.
Alleging the influence of campaign contributions, the 66 Alliance discloses a connection among Transurban, an "Austrialian-based private tolling company," and representatives and stakeholders in Northern Virginia.
Over the past two weeks, the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, which has Australian-based private tolling company Transurban on its 2016 Board of Directors, and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which has an employee of Transurban as the Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors in 2016, both have come out against bills to stop or change VDOT's plans for I-66.Transurban has spread over $548,000 in corporate contributions over members of the General Assembly in recent years (Bristow Beat found $538,460 from 2005-2015), including $92,000 in 2015 alone. Those facts alone should raise eyebrows (in the media and for voters) across the state after the recent Virginia political scandals involving influence peddling, improper gifts to elected officials, and insider dealing with respect to VDOT tolling projects.
"The Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce - and their members - need to remember that it takes consumers with money in their pockets - and a positive impression of a business -- to use their services and buy their products," Scott said.
Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax, District 37) is among those supporting VDOT’s plan for tolling I-66. However, he said it has nothing to do with Transurban and everything to do with it being a sensible, sustainable plan.
In a phone interview, Tuesday, Marsden said a few hundred dollars to a campaign does not make a difference. Besides, he said Transurban is only bidding on the project and the General Assembly does not get to decide which company will provide the tolling.
When Bristow Beat pointed out that there is a large sum of money divided among many representatives, Marsden said many businesses make those kinds of donations.
Marsden defended VDOT’s plan, though acknowledges it is unpopular with some of his constituents. He said that people are scared by the prospect of the tolls, but drivers get to choose whether or not to ride in the express lanes, which will be tolled while regular lanes will not be.
“People are reacting to $17 tolls and all of these tolls. I understand. I don’t like tolls either,” he said.
However, he said the days in which they can tax the Commonwealth to pay for roads in Northern Virginia are over, and yet road infrastructure needs to be expanded.
Marsden opposed allowing residents to vote on the project because he wants the plan to move forward, saying the proposals that his colleagues put forth would halt the project and risk it becoming a mess.
“It all falls apart unless you get this first piece [in place,]” Marsden said.
What Marsden likes about the proposal is that it includes transit options such as busing and slugging that will take people off the roads.
Noting that I-66 is one of the most trafficked roads in the country, he said, it needs to be fixed. VDOT could just expand the road, but he believes that would only attract more drivers, making it a temporary solution at best.
Overall, Marsden said he agrees with VDOT and Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) that a mix of transit busing, slugging, express lanes will best address the problem. He added that bringing the VRE to Haymarket and Gainesville will also help to lessen traffic on I-66 the corridor.
He notes the plan also has research backing it.
“This is really important to Prince William County. We get that. We do…The transit options we will hopefully have in place people in the Gainesville, Haymarket and Manassas.” He said he suspects that “people will develop good commuting patterns that will work in the long run.”
Scott of the 66 Alliance thanked all the representatives that supported bills that would allow the citizens to decide if they want two tolled express lanes on I-66.
The Alliance's members applaud the bi-partisan group of legislators - Delegates Bulova, LeMunyon, Minchew, Marshall and Webert in the House of Delegates and Senators Black, Petersen, Vogel and Wexton in the Senate - who continue to stand up to these corporate lobbyists and support commuters and voters over for-profit tolling companies and VDOT bureaucrats."The 66 Alliance urges all General Assembly members - House and Senate, Democrat or Republican -- to stand up to the corporate interests seeking to shape tolling policy in our Commonwealth. Elected officials should back the interests of individuals, families, commuters and voters over the special interests that are pushing this 'highway robbery' tolling policy in the 2016 General Assembly.
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