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News & Features Related Stories: by Brett Lieberman If there were a sign of the times to greet Virginians and visitors alike on the Commonwealth’s roadways over the next few years, it would be "under construction." A record $3 billion in road projects is underway. They include a major bridge replacement over the Potomac River that involves Virginia and Maryland, redesign of the state’s largest mixing bowl—the Springfield Interchange in Northern Virginia—and next year’s expected completion of State Route 895’s soaring spans over the James River near Richmond. Add in money for several private building projects, and the state is looking at more than $4 billion in construction for the 20 largest projects. "I don’t think people realize how much money is bring spent," says Transportation Secretary Shirley J. Ybarra.
It will take years to complete some of the projects, and whether some of the private ones are totally built out may depend on the economy. The downturn is clearly being felt in tech-heavy Northern Virginia — where commercial vacancy rates are rising — to the Richmond area and beyond. For instance, Infineon Technologies has put the brakes on a $1 billion plan to become the first semiconductor plant on the East Coast to produce 300 mm wafers. The expansion in Henrico County was expected to create 1,100 new jobs, but construction is now on hold and workers have been laid off. Yet other companies are forging ahead with consumer credit behemoth Capital One Financial Corp. and flash memory manufacturer Dominion Semiconductor spending $700 million each on office expansions. Northern Virginia, helped by the launch of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project, dominates this year’s Virginia Business rankings by claiming four of the five largest projects and a total of eight of the 20 projects underway. The more than $4 billion tally doesn’t include the total price tag for the $2.4 billion Woodrow Wilson Bridge—being split between Virginia, Maryland and the federal government—but rather Virginia’s share, $927 million. The list was culled from projects that broke ground or were ongoing between Sept. 1, 2000 and Sept. 1, 2001. This year’s total was pushed higher by long-planned road projects, and the influx of funds that resulted from the federal Transportation Equity Act of 1998, Virginia’s "Innovative Progress" initiative and Virginia Transportation Act of 2000. Higher returns on federal gas taxes and the state legislation are expected to provide an additional $4.5 billion in transportation funding over six years. "Suddenly you’re talking real money," says Ybarra. Projects new to this year’s list include the $125 million first phase of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington-Dulles International Airport. The Smithsonian’s first major expansion outside Washington, D.C. is expected to draw several million visitors a year to see the Space Shuttle "Enterprise" and hundreds of other spacecraft and aircraft. Showing continued strength and popularity are mixed-use developments and town centers modeled after Reston. This is particularly true in Newport News and Virginia Beach, where the Oyster Point and Virginia Beach town centers will provide about 450,000 square feet of new office, retail and residential space. If fully developed, they could grow to more than 1 million square feet. Port Warwick, also in Newport News, also stands to reshape the city’s center with large expanses of green, recreation facilities and neighborhoods to attract families. Throw in the kitchen sink, and the list provides a good look at what’s being built across Virginia. Return to Virginia Business - October 2001
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