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April 13, 1999
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<br /> WHEREAS, in 1996, in accordance with the provisions of the Public-Private
<br />Transportation Act of 1995, the Virginia Department of Transportation received an
<br />unsolicited proposal from Hampton Roads Public-Private Development LLC to construct
<br />the Pinners Point Interchange, a parallel tube at the Midtown Tunnel, the Martin Luther
<br />King Freeway Extension to 1-264, improvements to the Brambleton Avenue Interchange
<br />in Norfolk, and an intelligent transportation system to manage traffic flow; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, the City Councils of Norfolk, Virginia, and Portsmouth, Virginia, have
<br />been requested by the Virginia Department of Transportation to adopt a resolution on
<br />this issue stating their position; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, these facilities are critically needed for the continued growth and
<br />economic development of the Hampton Roads region and the entire Commonwealth of
<br />Virginia, and are vital to the continued prosperity of the Virginia Port Authority, and
<br />would provide vastly improved transportation connections among the varied federal
<br />military installations in the region; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, the improvements are currently estimated to cost more than $600
<br />million; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, none of the projects is currently included in the state's 2018 long
<br />range funding plan; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, strongly supports the
<br />need for the projects, but has serious concerns about the imposition of tolls on local
<br />residents as a financing mechanism, especially on a project that is so important to the
<br />region and the entire Commonwealth; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, the reasons the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, can not
<br />endorse the use of tolls on these facilities at this time include: the inconvenience to
<br />users; the financial hardship on users; the negative effect tolls will have on tourism and
<br />economic development; the return to a regressive road financing measure; and the fact
<br />that this project would become the only toll facility located entirely within Hampton
<br />Roads, and would thereby place the City of Portsmouth at a competitive disadvantage
<br />within the region; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, The Virginia Department of Transportation has consistently stated
<br />that the City of Portsmouth's number one transportation project, the Pinners Point
<br />Interchange, will continue to proceed regardless of the outcome of the project proposed
<br />by Hampton Roads Public-Private Development LLC; and
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<br /> WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, recognizes that the
<br />projects proposed by Hampton Roads Public-Private Development LLC are directly
<br />related to the proposed Pinners Point Interchange.
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<br /> NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of
<br />Portsmouth, Virginia, hereby urges the Governor and the General Assembly of the
<br />Commonwealth of Virginia to identify and allocate funding sources other than tolls to
<br />construct these projects as expeditiously as possible, and further urges the
<br />Commonwealth to seek special project funding from the Federal Government in
<br />recognition of the regional, statewide, and national interest in their construction.
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<br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Portsmouth,
<br />Virginia, hereby expresses its opposition to the use of tolls as proposed by Hampton
<br />Roads Public-Private Development LLC as a funding mechanism for constructing the
<br />Pinners Point Interchange, the Midtown Tunnel, or the Martin Luther King Freeway
<br />Extension to 1-264.
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<br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Portsmouth,
<br />Virginia, reaffirms its previous resolution adopted November 24, 1998, whereby the
<br />Council requested the Virginia Department of Transportation to use a portion of the
<br />city's Urban Allocation funds to repay the State's Toll Facilities Revolving Account in lieu
<br />of imposing tolls on the users of the Pinners Point Interchange, while also designating
<br />the Pinners Point Interchange as a high priority project, and to explore additional
<br />funding sources which can be applied to this project, in order that the use of Urban
<br />Allocation funds be minimized to the extent possible."
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