State seeks bidders for new toll road to coast

Existing US 460 at sunrise. From VDOT

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) wants somebody to build a new road from Petersburg to the Tidewater and they want you to pay to ride on it.

“This project is a top priority of the Commonwealth and will provide substantial benefits related to emergency evacuations and enhance the movement of freight to and from the ports,” said VDOT Commissioner Greg Whirley. “Additionally, the new Route 460 will provide greater connectivity between the Richmond/Petersburg and Hampton Roads regions increasing economic development opportunities and job creation.”

The state wants to build a new U.S. Route 460, about 55 miles of four-lane, divided highway with limited access interchanges. The road would be built by private organizations in cooperation with the state and use public and private funds and would be a fully operational toll road.

"The project will extend from the existing U.S. Route 460 near its interchange with Interstate 295 (I-295) in Prince George County to the U.S. Route 58 bypass just south of the existing U.S. Route 460 in the City of Suffolk," the state's U.S. 460 website states. "The corridor alignment for this project runs south of the existing U.S. Route 460 for its entirety and has been approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The Final Environmental Impact Study and Record of Decision have been approved by the Federal Highway Administration."

The project does not include improvements to the existing U.S. Route 460 or other adjacent roadways.

It is, in short, a done deal. Providing someone will build it.

The road will include interchanges at:

• Routes 156 and 625 in Prince George County
• Routes 602, 40 and 620 in Sussex County
• Route 616 in Southampton County
• Route 258 in Isle of Wight County

"The project will be developed as a PPTA project which means that a private developer (the concessionaire) will sign a long term agreement with VDOT to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the project," the site states. "It is anticipated that the project will be a tolled facility with these funds being collected and used to pay for project costs. There is no state or federal funding planned or programmed for this project."