State Delegate Dick Black ( R - Loudoun / Fairfax ) announced this week that Governor Jim Gilmore has signed Black's bill HB 1287 to free up $54 million in bonding capacity for the Route 28 Improvement District.
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The bill is an early step in a long-term goal of establishing a Route 28 "Techway" to widen Route 28 and Waxpool Road in Sterling. The 2000 budget added $28.6 million more. The full funding package for Route 28 may require $250 million of financing, he added.
Black said that Hobie Mitchell, a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, discovered the possibility of using the $54 million in bonds. The bonds were never used because of Improvement District funding problems during a recession, he explained.
"From the beginning, the Route 28 District envisioned more interchanges, but that plan has been dormant until now," he said. "Rapid growth of high-tech industry puts a heavy strain on Route 28 traffic... There's no guarantee that we can build the 'Techway' but it has become one of my major goals." Black credited Senator Bill Mims with moving the bill through the Senate.
