THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995               TAG: 9501210074
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER       PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Editorial 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   43 lines

PRIVATE ROAD-BUILDING A TOLL IS A TOLL

Frustrated by their own inability to build the roads and bridges citizens need, city officials have turned to private business for help.

Chesapeake has signed a letter of intent with a company called Rebuild Inc. of Sterling to explore building and operating a new Jordan Bridge as a public-private enterprise. There's also talk of constructing the long-awaited South Battlefield Boulevard bypass, and maybe even the Oak Grove Connector, by the same method.

Any such arrangement would require a change in the law, and there's a bill before the General Assembly now that would allow businesses to build and operate parts of Virginia's transportation system as profit-making ventures.

The legislation gives state or city governments the option of helping finance the projects, and requires that such projects eventually revert to public ownership. The companies, in turn, would be allowed to collect tolls from drivers who use the roads to recover their investment and to make a profit.

If a public-private partnership can help replace that worn-out piece of junk called Jordan Bridge, it's worth looking into. Users have long been accustomed to paying a toll on the bridge anyway.

But motorists will be less enthusiastic about a similar arrangement on the bypass project. They have made it clear that they don't like paying tolls, and a toll is a toll whether it's paid to a private company or to a government agency.

If a private firm can build a road - and make a profit besides - surely government ought to be able to build the same road through traditional funding means. If they can't, maybe we should fix the system we have rather than looking for a new one.

KEYWORDS: TOLL ROAD PROPOSED by CNB