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R-06-49 A RESOLUTION URGING THE GOVERNOR AND THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO WORK IN CONCERT DURING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S SPECIAL SESSION 1 ON TRANSPORTATION AND TO ADOPT LEGISLATION AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS THAT WILL PROVIDE DEDICATED, LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH'S TRANSPORTATION NEEDS. WHEREAS, during its 2006 regular session, the Virginia General Assembly did not reach agreement on identifying and funding maj or transportation needs in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and due in part to the unresolved transportation funding issues, a 2007 - 2009 Biennium Budget was not adopted; and WHEREAS, this lack of agreement led the Virginia General Assembly into Special Session 1 on March 27, 2006; and WHEREAS, as part ofthe June 2006 Budget Compromise, language and funding from the introduced budget bill was struck for the Departments of Rail and Public Transportation and the Department of Transportation, together with specific funding allocations for highways and transit, including the Mainline Rail Relocation Project for Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk; and WHEREAS, it has been twenty years since any major transportation reforms were made in Virginia, and since that time, the overall condition of transportation has greatly deteriorated, especially in the urban corridors of the Commonwealth with identified traffic choke points being in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads; and WHEREAS, with current and proposed port improvements, including the scheduled opening of Maersk in 2007 and the future Virginia Port Authority expansion plans for Craney Island, the Port of Virginia is posed to become the leading East Coast port; and WHEREAS, with the aforementioned expanded Port activities, tratlic is projected to dramatically increase over the next ten years and to triple over the next twenty years thus creating significant additional demand on an already over burdened transportation system; and WHEREAS, Hampton Roads is already a significant highway transportation choke point that negatively impacts the timely movement of employees, customers, goods and services by local, regional, and outside businesses; and WHEREAS, on-time departures and arrivals for all ofthe aforementioned is critical in making Hampton Roads more competitive and secures the quality of life which in turn attracts and helps to retain a qualified workforce pool; and