Two controversial proposals to improve Virginia’s I-81 corridor may have failed to earn trucking’s support, but state authorities say the plans meet requirements set by the state’s Transportation Department and will receive further consideration.

The proposals, submitted by Star Solutions and Fluor Virginia Inc., now move to the detailed review process under the Public-Private Transportation Act. The agreement allows the department to partner with the private sector to speed up construction of the corridor.

The plans to ease congestion and improve safety on the highway include charging users a toll and adding a rail component to divert some freight.

Star project – steeper price tag

Star Solutions, a consortium of road construction companies, proposes turning the 325-mile stretch of I-81 into an eight-lane highway with two lanes for large trucks and two for other vehicles. A concrete barrier would divide the truck and car lanes.

The consortium says the project would cost between $6.25 billion and $7.75 billion and could be completed in about 15 years. Tolls on trucks, as well as state and federal funds, would pay for the project. No tollbooths would be built. Electronic sensors would track trucks as they get on and off the interstate, and their owners would be sent a bill.

Toll rates would start at 12 cents a mile in 2006, moving to 21 cents on the first completed sections of I-81 in 2009.

Trucks would begin paying about $40 to drive through Virginia. Eventually they would pay about $70, before inflation adjustments.

The Star plan also includes “hill-climbing” lanes and six 200-unit truck-only rest areas, as well as the reconstruction of interchanges and new sound walls.

Fluor’s six-lane solution

Fluor Virginia, also a consortium of road construction companies, has proposed a $1.84 billion plan calling for adding two car-only lanes to create a six-lane corridor. Hill-climbing lanes would be added for trucks in about 10 places along the highway.

The modifications would be paid for by tolls charged to truck and car drivers through plazas located at three points on the highway. Under Fluor’s proposal, trucks would pay about $35 for a through trip and cars would pay about $10. The tolls would double in 2011, when the project is scheduled to be complete.

Rail initiative

Star Solutions initially submitted a highway-widening plan in January 2002. VDOT later returned the proposal in favor of an additional component that would include moving some freight off the freeway to rail.

Since then, Fluor and Star have included the railroad element in their plans.

Fluor suggests adopting a Norfolk Southern Railway proposal to divert freight from I-81 by adding a second track near Front Royal. For Northern Virginia rail commuters, Fluor also suggests adding a second track between Haymarket and Manassas.

Star says it will work with VDOT and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation on passenger-rail needs and improving tracks in the Front Royal area. However, it wants to hold off on upgrading the NS tracks until market studies are completed “to determine what, if any track improvement will provide a benefit” to I-81.

The next step

The proposals to improve the I-81 corridor have passed the first phase of the PPTA process, which involved a committee of top VDOT officials reviewing the firms’ qualifications, technical and engineering merit and financial feasibility. After determining that both proposals qualified to move forward, the 17-member board voted to advance the proposals to the detailed review process.

Before VDOT requests detailed proposals, it must receive clarification from the Federal Highway Administration to determine whether plans require a National Environmental Policy Act review.

If so, the environmental review could hold up negotiations on a project for about two years, VDOT spokeswoman Tamara Neale told Land Line.

The department is still waiting for an answer from the FHWA, she said. As soon as a decision is made to pursue either or both proposals, affected local communities will have two months to comment on the plans. Afterward, a panel of transportation and academic officials will review the comments and plans.

Neale said the special commission would determine whether the companies were qualified to do the work and whether the programs were technically and financially feasible.

--by Keith Goble, staff writer

Keith Goble can be reached at kgoble@landlinemag.com.