RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Jeff Caldwell (804) 786-2715 Jeffrey.Caldwell@VDOT.Virginia.gov

CO-0704 Feb. 14, 2007

INDEPENDENT REVIEW PANEL TO EVALUATE THREE ROUTE 460 PPTA PROPOSALS

RICHMOND — Secretary of Transportation Pierce R. Homer last week named a 14-member independent review panel to examine three private-sector proposals to improve Route 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk. The panel is made up of citizens, Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) members, state government officials and representatives from planning organizations along the Route 460 corridor.

The review panel will solicit input from localities and the general public along the route to evaluate the Route 460 improvement proposals. In September 2006, three firms submitted proposals to build a new Route 460 using private investments, user fees including tolls and other innovative financing methods. The firms were Cintra, Itinere and 460 Virginia Corridor Partners (VCP).

The Route 460 corridor is a strategic component in Virginia’s long-term freight management, hurricane evacuation, congestion reduction and economic development programs.

The review panel plans to hold its first meeting from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on March 21 in the Prince George County Administration Building Board of Supervisor's Meeting Room. The address is 6602 Court Drive, Prince George, VA 23875.

Members of the panel include:

• Alan S. Witt, Chairman and CTB member
  
  
• E. Dana Dickens, III, CTB member
  
  
• Gerald P. McCarthy, CTB member
  
  
• Kenneth S. White, CTB member
  
  
• Raynor A. K. Taylor, citizen
  
  
• Floyd M. Brown, citizen
  
  
• Steven Mondul, Deputy Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness
  
  
• Mal Kerley, VDOT Chief Engineer
  
  
• Barbara Reese, VDOT Chief Financial Officer
  
  
• Jeff Florin, Virginia Port Authority Chief Engineer
  
  
• Dennis Heuer, VDOT Hampton Roads District Administrator
  
  
• Dwight L. Farmer, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
  
  
• Dennis K. Morris, Crater Planning District
  
  
• Michael D. Fountaine, Ph.D., P.E., Old Dominion University

The panel will make recommendations to the commissioner and Commonwealth Transportation Board on the feasibility of three proposals. All three will be evaluated according to criteria established in the Code of Virginia and guidelines approved by the CTB. All meetings will be open to the public and held in the corridor. One of the main responsibilities of the panel is the receipt and analysis of public and local government comments on the proposals.

For more information on the PPTA process and guidelines, and to read the proposals, visit VirginiaDOT.org/projects/ppta-US-Route460.asp.