Road Closure on Route 7

This road closure from VDOT...
In Loudoun County on Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) east at Charlestown Pike (Route 9), about 4 miles east of Purcellville... the right lane is closed until 1 p.m. today, Tuesday, June 24, for road work.

Old Ox Road Reopened

Update: 3:48 p.m. from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office...

Old Ox Road (Route 606) at Weather Service Road has been re-opened after being closed down for one hour due to a two vehicle crash.

Road Closure

From the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office... Old Ox Road (Route 606)
is closed in both directions due to a two vehicle crash at Weather
Service Road. Motorists who travel this area should expect delays.

Update Time: 3:20 p.m.

Video - Leesburg Town Hall Transportation Meeting

Governor Timothy Kaine's opening remarks during the transportation town hall meeting in Leesburg on June 11, 2008. This was one of a series of statewide town hall meetings to discuss the upcoming transportation special session of the the Virginia General Assembly on June 23.

For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic

Video - Q&A Session from Leesburg Town Hall Transportation Meeting

Governor Timothy Kaine takes questions during the transportation town hall meeting in Leesburg on June 11, 2008. This was one of a series of statewide town hall meetings to discuss the upcoming transportation special session of the the Virginia General Assembly on June 23.

For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic

Governor Talks Transportation at Leesburg Meeting

Today's Loudoun Times features a story about Gov. Tim Kaine's transportation plan meeting held in Leesburg last night. The meeting was a lead up to the General Assembly's June 23 special session on transportation where Kaine will pitch his plan to raise taxes and fees to pay for transportation projects throughout Virginia.

According to the Times article...

"More than 100 residents and local elected leaders filled an auditorium at Harper Park Middle School to hear Kaine describe a plan to increase the state's retail and car sales taxes and as well as the grantor's tax home sellers pay to fund road and transit improvements.

As Kaine described, his plan, which will raise about $1 billion annually, includes a statewide 1 percent hike in Virginia's vehicle sales tax and a $10 increase in its vehicle registration fee. These changes, he said, will generate about $250 million a year to fund maintenance of existing roads and bridges.

Kaine also is proposing to raise the retail sales tax by 1 percent in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to fund road projects in both regions. In Northern Virginia, he said the change would create more than $300 million a year starting in 2009.

Finally, Kaine said he also wants to raise the grantor's tax home sellers pay at closing by 25 cents for every $100 of a home's sale price. The majority of the $150 million a year this would generate, he said, would go toward public transportation, with the rest to be set aside for statewide economic development."

Examiner Reports that NVTA Needs Money

Today's Washington Examiner reports that the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is preparing for two extremes ? an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars for new transportation projects or a near-complete shutdown.

"The first assumes a special General Assembly session will raise taxes to pay for transportation projects. That would require $1.2 million for the NVTA to hire six staff members and administer hundreds of millions of dollars in new road and rail improvements across the region."

"The other option uses about $350,000 to pay off debts and close shop, assuming the General Assembly is unable to replace the $336 million in tax dollars the Virginia Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in February."

The Examiner adds that local lawmakers are not optimistic the General Assembly will approve tax increases to pay for road and rail improvements in the region in the special session, which starts June 23.

Rough Weather Affects Loudoun Roadways

This evening's storms had the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office working several weather related issues on Loudoun roadways including downed trees, wires and power outages in Western Loudoun.

At approximately 6 p.m., some of the affected roadways included:

• A traffic light outage at Route 9 and Hillsboro Road in Purcellville
• A tree down on Milltown Road and Rickard Road in Lovettsville
• A tree down on Furnace Mountain Road and Lovettsville Road
• Wires down on Main Street and Mulberry Street in Round Hill

For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic

Dulles Rail Suffers Yet Another Setback

According to a Washington Post article on Saturday, a proposed extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, already on precarious footing, was dealt another setback when the Virginia Supreme Court allowed a lawsuit to go forward challenging plans to use Dulles Toll Road receipts to fund construction.

The decision casts doubt on one of the most crucial sources of money to help pay for the 23-mile Dulles rail line. Without that money, the Federal Transit Administration, which has been scrutinizing the project's financing, might pull its approval of the extension. Virginia is counting on the FTA to pay $900 million of the $5.2 billion cost.

Meanwhile, the Washington Examiner story reports that justices reversed a March 2007 Richmond Circuit Court judge's ruling, rejecting the state's claim that it couldn't be sued under "sovereign immunity" and sending the lawsuit back to the lower court. If successful, the legal challenge would bar Virginia from turning the toll road over to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which plans to use the revenue to fund the Dulles Metrorail project.

The suit was brought by Richmond lawyer Patrick McSweeney on behalf of two toll road users. McSweeney was instrumental in the Supreme Court's February decision that gutted the legislature's 2007 transportation funding package, declaring that unelected regional bodies like the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) couldn't collect taxes.

For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic

Route 267 at I-495N Now Cleared

This traffic update from VDOT... The incident on Route 267, Dulles
Toll Road, west on the ramp at I-495 north near Tysons Corner has been
cleared and normal traffic patterns been resumed.

Accident on Toll Road at I-495N Ramp

This in from VDOT... there is an accident on Route 267, Dulles Toll Road, west, on the ramp at I-495 north, near Tysons Corner. The exit ramp from I-495 north is closed. Expect delays.