Belmont Bridge fix funds in danger
The Daily Progress
The replacement of the Belmont Bridge was originally slated for 2008, and now state officials say the money may be more needed elsewhere.
Faced with a revenue drought, state officials have recommended cutting millions of dollars intended to help replace the ailing Belmont Bridge.
City officials have long planned to replace the aging span, which caused a stir in 2006 when it dropped softball-sized chunks of concrete on empty cars below.
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot more needs than we have money right now,” said Lou Hatter, Central Virginia spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board proposes to nix $3.6 million it had planned to allot for the Route 20 bridge’s replacement over the next six years. The board will make a final decision in December, after a public hearing.
“The bridge just needs to be replaced,” said Charlottesville City Council member David Brown. “It’s an aging bridge.”
The work, which would reduce the bridge to one lane in each direction for about a year, was slated for 2008, but had since been pushed back to at least 2015.
State authorities have already dedicated $4.4 million in federal and state funds to the project, and city officials have also earmarked some funds. The project is predicted to cost roughly $9.2 million total.
Because the reductions the state recommended — the result of a prediction that revenues will drop another $851.5 million — are only preliminary, city officials say they hope to lobby for the bridge’s funding.
“I’m hoping that we’ll try to make a case that it needs to be put back in, but whether that’ll do any good or not … who knows?” Councilor Julian Taliaferro said.
City Council members said that Route 20’s path through the city is crucial.
“It links the north and south parts of the city,” Councilor Satyendra Huja said. “It is a major arterial route from Monticello to downtown.”
Taliaferro said the move is part of a broader pattern.
“This just one [example] of another disturbing trend, that the state continues to cut money and put the burden on the folks back home,” he said.
But even as fuel tax and Department of Motor Vehicles revenues tank, the state officials spared another Charlottesville bridge project.
A bridge on Jefferson Park Avenue near the Fry’s Spring neighborhood is currently not rated as strong enough for emergency vehicles. Hatter said the funding reflected the Common-wealth Transportation Board’s preference for projects that are already “in the pipeline.”
“That’s a situation where we’re almost ready to advertise that one for construction,” he said.
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Reader Reactions
Big Al, I am aware of how Government works which is why I am complaining. Just because they go for the lowest bidder does not mean that they get the lowest price. It is no different than an auction where one crook bids on lot A and the other crook bids on lot B. They can certainly reject all of the bids and start over if they would do their own research. What they SHOULD do is make an estimate of the real cost, factor in a fair profit margin and set a maximum bid to see who wants to come in under it. There are too many companies who are too well connected involved in these contracts. Also as far as night work goes, so long as unions are out of it when you have a 10.2% unemployment rate there is no reason to pay more for two shifts during summer months when the daylght is on your side. It is a tradition that needs to be stopped.
The taxpayers get bilked on almost every job. Do you rthink if that bridge belonged to a shopping mall with a lowes and a walmart in it the mall would spend that much money or waste that much time? doubtful.
As far as the state budget goes, consider yourself lucky that conservatives put a leash on spending or the state would be in WAY worse shape the it is now.. Kaine lost his credibility when he closed the rest stops.(which still have to be policed and maintained, so all they are really saving is labor for the workers and some utility bills) (which of course doesn’t even come close to the tourism money we lose to people who keep passing through. )
BigAl: First, you should know that it is the Republican legislature that decides what the budget should be. Governor Kaine has the option of going along with the budget and keeping the state running, or vetoing the budget and letting the state stop working. Past governors have given in and simply allowed the cuts in spending so that the legislators could go back to their constituents at election time and crow about there being no new taxes. Neither the governors nor the legislators have shown any real leadership.
About those bridge repairs in Texas. You don’t say how much they cost. Working multiple shifts usually costs more money than working one shift a day. Does Texas pay more to get the job done quickly? Also, If VDOT were to simply close the bridge and re-route traffic, all of the little businesses over there would whine to the Supervisors about how their businesses have been hurt because of the new traffic pattern. This is why we don’t have any real improvements in 29 North. I’m almost reluctant to remind you that severe weather increases the amount of time outdoor projects take around here.
Salty: I presume that you know that the contract was awarded to the lowest of several bidders. This is probably what the project will cost. I also know that it less time-consuming to write and post drivel, than to contact VDOT and ask for a copy of the Request for Proposals for the project and see for yourself that VDOT specified industry standard materials and labor procedures for the project, before criticizing VDOT.
Are you both really that ignorant how our state government works, or do you just post these inanities to get people upset?
What we need is someone who is retired from the bridge building business to explain why it costs 9 million dollars to redo a bridge that is already up and running.
I have looked at it and the foundation and steel seem fine. 9 million bucks for new cement is an awful lot. Does that figure include a lot of fancy architecture or stone work? WHY? When you are broke and need a car do you buy the fancy trim package?
I wonder how much the state will have to pay in a lawsuit when someone dies from a cement chunk cracking their skull.
Oh, thats right .. that doesn’t come out of DOTs budget so THEY DON’T CARE.
That is why these situations even come up. No accountability.
First of all, it shouldn’t take SIX years to replace the bridge. Road projects in Virginia are always like this - they take 10 times longer than they take anywhere else.
In Texas, they’d replace the bridge by first shutting it down and creating detours. Period. Then they’d demolish it and build a new one. They’d work at least two and maybe three shifts. They’d have the new bridge open in less than a year. Traffic would be disrupted minimally, and it would cost a lot less.
Maybe it’s time to swap out the leadership of VDOT with people who know how to manage projects efficiently. The current crop of leaders clearly does not (just look how long it takes to repave 29).
Well, at least we know that when another softball-sized piece of the bridge falls off next year, we just have to go down to the Richmond Law school to have a talk with Gov. Kaine about his decision on this. Keeping fingers crossed in the meantime.
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