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1995 SESSION

LD2142607
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 355
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Rules
on February 16, 1995)
(Patron Prior to Substitute-Senator Barry)
Requesting the Departments of Transportation and Rail and Public Transportation, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board, in cooperation with the City of Chesapeake, to study certain transportation issues as respectively assigned.

WHEREAS, Interstate Route 66 provides a critical transportation link for both intraregional and interregional traffic in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, economic and population growth have contributed to increases in commuter and general traffic during the past ten years along the Interstate Route 66 corridor in Fairfax, Prince William, and Fauquier Counties; and

WHEREAS, the metropolitan planning regulations promulgated under the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) require a major investment study before any new transportation facility can be built in an air quality nonattainment area; and

WHEREAS, Senate Joint Resolution No. 104 of the 1994 Regular Session requested the Departments of Transportation and Rails and Public Transportation to perform an alternative analysis study of new bus, rail, and highway facilities along the Interstate Route 66 corridor; and

WHEREAS, although major investment studies are more comprehensive than alternatives analyses and take longer to complete, it is desirable to perform the more rigorously analytical study; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Rail and Public Transportation is performing a major investment study of new bus, rail, and highway facilities along the Interstate Route 66 corridor; and

WHEREAS, South Battlefield Boulevard is the principal link between the I-95/64 corridor and the resort beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks; and

WHEREAS, improvement of the Boulevard is among the most critically needed, yet unfunded, projects in Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth and is part of the proposed National Highway System; and

WHEREAS, the present 10-mile length of the two-lane highway carries three times its design capacity, and 80 percent of the traffic is generated from outside of the corridor, creating severe traffic congestion for local citizens and emergency response teams, including police, fire and emergency medical services; and

WHEREAS, Battlefield Boulevard also serves as the emergency evacuation route of the Outer Banks and becomes almost impassable by motorists during hurricane emergencies; and

WHEREAS, the high cost of the improvement project, estimated to be $140 million, far exceeds the region's ability to pay for and finance the needed improvements; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Departments of Transportation and Rail and Public Transportation, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board, in cooperation with the City of Chesapeake, be requested to study certain transportation issues as respectively assigned.

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Departments of Transportation and Rail and Public Transportation are requested to submit an interim report of their findings on the major investment study of new bus, rail, and highway facilities along the Interstate Route 66 corridor to the Governor and the 1996 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation be requested to complete their work in time to submit their final findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 1997 General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the City of Chesapeake, are requested to develop a proposed financing plan for the State Route 168/South Battlefield Boulevard Bypass in the City of Chesapeake. The Commonwealth Transportation Board shall develop this financial plan with the mutual consent and assistance of the City of Chesapeake. This report shall consider, but not be limited to, an analysis of the following financing sources, business options and sources of revenue:

1. Public-private partnerships and risk-sharing;

2. Local funds;

3. Toll revenue bond financing;

4. Value capture financing;

5. ISTEA funds;

6. State funds;

7. State and/or local bonded indebtedness;

8. Privatized delivery and operation of the facility, in combination with public ownership and financing; and

9. Institutional delivery options such as an authority or a multi-jurisdictional or state commission.

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Department of Transportation be requested to complete their work in time to submit their findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 1996 General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.