Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

VA Gov Bob McDonnell Boots Bypass Opponent From State Transpo Board

Well, there's no longer any question whose side Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is on when it comes to the controversial Western Bypass in Charlottesville. Whether the locals favor this project or not, the 6.2 mile, $300 million bypass, just north of the University of Virginia, clearly has some friends in high places.

false

Sean Tubbs at Charlottesville Tomorrow reports today that McDonnell has booted James Rich from the Commonwealth Transportation Board, a powerful decision-making body. Why? Rich had the audacity to vote against the controversial bypass and call for redirecting the money:

Rich has consistently been the lone vote on the [Commonwealth Transportation Board] against the U.S. 29 Western Bypass. In December, he introduced a resolution to reallocate the $135 million the body allocated to the project in July 2011.

But Rich won't be a dissenting voice with power anymore, Tubbs reports:

“I am no longer on the Commonwealth Transportation Board,” said James Rich, who was appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell in July 2010 to represent VDOT’s Culpeper District on the body that establishes transportation policy in Virginia.

“I think the Secretary of Transportation wanted me to depart because I voted against the Western Bypass,” Rich said in an interview with Charlottesville Tomorrow.

According to state code, members of the CTB are “removable from office during their respective terms by the Governor at his pleasure.”

Rich said he will continue to oppose the bypass and is glad he had the chance to do so as an appointed official.

“If they think I was going to just sit there as a potted plant, they were wrong,” Rich said. “As long as I was on the board, I was going to do what was right because that’s the responsibility we have to the taxpayers.”

It seems like every time we write about this project the price has gone up by $50 million. In July, 2011, the price was $197 million. One year later, it was $245 million.

All this for a project that certainly has no strong local mandate. Two-thirds of public comments about the bypass were against it -- and some local residents complained of being "blackballed" for expressing dissent. This fall, a consultant hired by project opponents found major flaws in the data regional transportation authorities used to justify the bypass.

Meanwhile, McDonnell, you will recall, grabbed headlines recently for proposing to address the state's transportation budget mess by increasing the sales tax -- effectively shifting the burden of paying for road infrastructure to everyone except drivers. Perhaps if there were fewer $300 million bypasses on the state's docket...

Elsewhere on the Network today: Systemic Failure wonders why notorious drunken/reckless driver Lindsay Lohan still has a license. Boston Streets outlines a series of forward-looking proposals put forward by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick aimed at shoring up the state's transportation accounts. And Forward Lookout anticipates tone deaf remarks on transportation by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in his upcoming state of the state address.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

FDNY To Drivers: Please Stop Parking At Hydrants

Parking scofflaws turn a fire fatal. The public could help, if the Council would pass a bill creating citizen enforcement.

February 11, 2025

Who Benefits from Trump ‘Birthrate’ Funding Scheme? Wealthier, Whiter Drivers

This prioritization lacks evidence of how it will meet the memo’s stated purpose to “bolster the American economy and benefit the American people.”

February 11, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: L’Etat C’est Lui Edition

Our top story: President Trump moved to dismiss the corruption case against Mayor Adams. Plus other news.

February 11, 2025

Trump Can’t Legally Kill Congestion Pricing, But When Has That Ever Stopped Him?

New York's leaders can't take Donald Trump's threats to congestion pricing, and the constitutional order, lying down — but they might anyway.

February 11, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: Old Florida Man Shakes His Fist Edition

The so-called Leader of the Free World said he hated bike lanes. Plus other news in today's headlines.

February 10, 2025
See all posts