Construction costs up; local road improvements endangered

Construction Costs Slow Transportation Growth [Springfield Connection]

Ryan Hall, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation: "You can look at little things like the way we fill potholes. Last year, the cost of asphalt was $38.50 per ton, and now we pay $47.50 per ton in our new contract," he said. To put things in perspective, in 2005, VDOT used 86,000 tons of asphalt. If the same amount of asphalt is needed in 2006, a $9 per ton increase results in an additional $774,000 in funding.

[The Springfield Interchange is safe, but...] the future is not as bright for projects that have yet to be funded.

"The money is vaporizing before some projects can be built," said Supervisor Dana Kauffman (D-Lee). "It's a huge challenge. Not only are we dealing with construction costs like diesel fuel and steel, but the cost [of] land in Northern Virginia is continuing to spiral upward."

Our homeowner's association is facing a similar problem; the cost of our maintenance contracts is climbing significantly because of fuel and materials increases.   Politics--Policy