Years of shuffling money around and narrowly avoiding transportation funding gaps have led to a Washington region with crumbling roads and projects years behind schedule.
Now, as lawmakers are again forced to consider slashing budgets or raising taxes, major and unexpected repairs from this month's flooding have added millions of dollars to the problem in just a few days.
In Northern Virginia, floods from Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene caused at least $10 million in damage in Fairfax County, according to Garrett Moore, Virginia Department of Transportation's district administrator for Northern Virginia. In suburban Maryland, Prince George's and Charles counties sustained the brunt of damage, with initial estimates as high as $4.65 million, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration.
The unexpected repairs, which state highway administrations estimate will take more than a year to permanently replace, come at a time when cash-strapped Maryland and Virginia have been putting off road fixes and ways to shore up their transportation coffers.
Read the entire article at The Washington Examiner.
