Chesapeake Declines Dominion Blvd. Proposal
A month after it received an unsolicited proposal to expand the congested Dominion Boulevard corridor, the city of Chesapeake, Virginia rejected the offer yesterday. (See September 1, 2009 report.) The city manager cited five primary deficiencies, including concerns about safety and environmental aspects, an inadequate financial plan, and potentially excessive tolls and the resulting diversion onto parallel facilities. The proposal from the Virginia 104 consortium had estimated charges between $1.00 and $2.50 for the currently untolled road, and had forecast rapid traffic growth from the current 30,000 vehicles per day to 68,000 by 2030.
The city manager noted Chesapeake is proceeding with plans to upgrade Dominion Boulevard and the Steel Bridge bottleneck on its own, though the consortium is welcome to submit another proposal which addresses the city’s concerns.
(Virginian-Pilot 10/2/09)