Published: May 20, 2009 09:05 pm      

VDOT finalizes closures

Budget cuts scale back, eliminate highway services

TAZEWELL, Va. — Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner David Ekern recommended sweeping budget cuts Wednesday for Southwest Virginia, including the closure of a residency office serving Tazewell and Bland counties.

Ekern, who delivered his final recommendations to members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, also is calling for a closure of two local rest areas along the Interstate 81 corridor in Wythe and Smyth counties, the elimination of safety service patrols in Southwest Virginia, and even a significantly scaled-back mowing schedule along local interstate corridors.

The grass will now be mowed only three times a year, but will be cut when sight distance is impacted. Ekern also recommended the closure of a VDOT equipment shop in the Rocky Gap community. The cuts were in response of a $2.6 billion revenue shortfall.

“This plan doesn’t reduce snow and ice control services throughout the Commonwealth,” Ekern said in a conference calls with reporters. “Our districts will have the authority to adjust their budgets both to respond to changing conditions and to make sure our snow and ice control is maintained throughout any season.”

Tazewell County officials reiterated their opposition Wednesday to the proposed budget cuts.

“As I stated at the public hearing on the closing of the Tazewell residency, it is a bad idea based on flawed facts and figures,” Mike Hymes, the Southern District member of the county Board of Supervisors, said. “Closing the residency will create gross inefficiencies in servicing roads that are vital to transportation, business, education and medical services in Tazewell County and create an undue hardship on our taxpayers of the area plus it will negatively affect our economic development efforts. I am very disappointed at the commissioner’s decision.”

Tazewell County Administrator Jim Spencer said the cuts also could impact the maintenance of the East River Mountain Tunnel that is currently shared by West Virginia and Virginia.

“The Tazewell residency is the only one that maintains it,” Spencer said. “How is shutting this residency down going to impact the East River Mountain Tunnel that is sort of shared by West Virginia and Virginia. Delegate (Dan) Bowling mentioned that to me in a meeting yesterday. What is the impact on West Virginia?”

VDOT spokeswoman Michelle Earl said the residency closures will begin by December. The six existing residency offices in the Bristol District will be consolidated into three. Tazewell will be served by the Lebanon office and Bland will be served by the Wytheville office.

While local rest areas along the I-81 corridor will be closed, Earl said four rest areas will still be maintained along the I-81 corridor.

“We had proposed closing 25 rest areas for a savings of about $25 million,” Ekern said. “We got quite a bit of good public input on concerns about that proposal, both from a driver’s standpoint and a trucking industry standpoint, and from a tourism standpoint. As we reviewed the proposals and input we got we will bring a recommendation now to the board that will recommend restoring six of the rest areas now scheduled to close bringing the total number closed to 19 rest areas.”

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com