Part Two
POINTS TO CONSIDER:
It is our firm belief that adoption of this proposal would seriously and
unnecessarily jeopardize the safe and effective operation of the Chesapeake
Bay Bridge and Tunnel facility , and we urge that the CBBT be excluded from
the bill.
The CBBT is different from the other bridges and tunnels in Hampton
Roads and these differences are the key to its success:
. The CBBT was constructed entirely with private funds and, except for
a comparatively small amount of maintenance funding, the cost of
maintaining, operating, and policing the facility is paid entirely from toll
revenues.
. The CBBT is governed by an autonomous Commission that has been able
to assess future traffic growth, plan for the improvements needed to
accommodate that growth, and set tolls at levels sufficient to generate the
funds necessary to pay the cost of those improvements, all without the use
of tax dollars. Those escrowed funds cannot be used for any other facility
than the CBBT in accordance with the Federal Bridge Act. Future net
revenues, as long as there are outstanding bonds, can only be used for the
CBBT in accordance with bond covenants.
. The CBBT, with the completion of the parallel tunnels as recommended
by traffic consultants, will avoid future traffic congestion and provide an
alternative for traffic flow to the two existing two-lane tunnels that will
be approaching sixty years of age when the parallel tunnels are completed.
The Commission's ability to construct parallel tunnels would be severely
crippled under SB192.
It is also worth noting that Commission representation from the Eastern
Shore would decrease from the current four commissioners to one under the
proposed bill and net revenues from the CBBT, once all bonds are paid in
full, would be enabled to be diverted to other Hampton Roads transportation
infrastructure expansion and maintenance.
Merging the CBBT with the other Hampton Roads bridges and tunnels will have
little or no effect on the ability to fund needed improvements to other
bridges and tunnels. It will, however, deprive the CBBT of any reasonable
opportunity to complete the improvements its Commission has determined to be
necessary to avoid future congestion and to provide an alternative for
traffic flow in case of a mechanical breakdown, vehicular accident, or major
maintenance detail in the existing tunnels. By depriving the CBBT
Commission of the ability to plan independently, and to use its own
internally generated revenues to implement those plans, the proposed
legislation will condemn the CBBT to the same type of congestion that
currently plagues other Hampton Roads facilities.
The consolidation of the bridges and tunnels in Hampton Roads under a single
authority can be accomplished without including the CBBT. The CBBT District
and Commission structure should be replicated as opposed to altered. This
would not compromise either the ability of the new authority to plan and
prioritize needed improvements at other bridges and tunnels, or its ability
to impose tolls at levels sufficient to fund those improvements.
Letters should be directed to the following:
Senator R. Edward Houck Fax: (804) 698-7954 Email:
district17@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:district17@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator Yvonne B. Miller Fax: (804) 698-7963 Email:
district05@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district05@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator Henry L. Marsh III Fax: (804) 698-7958 Email:
district16@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district16@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator Stephen D. Newman Fax: (804) 698-7964 Email:
district23@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district23@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator Phillip P. Puckett Fax: (804) 698-7975 Email:
district38@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district38@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator Harry B. Blevins Fax: (804) 698-7968 Email:
district14@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district14@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator R. Creigh Deeds Fax: (804) 698-7946 Email:
district25@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district25@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator J. Brandon Bell II Fax: (804) 698-7974 Email:
district22@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district22@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis Fax: (804) 698- 7980 Email:
district34@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:district34@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
see part 3
--
Susan A. Heath
George Mason University
Environmental Science Department
Fairfax, VA
Secretary, Virginia Avian Records Committee
Keeper, Virginia Comp List at www.virginiabirding.org
