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But the Virginia Department of Transportation has been ready and willing to fight for the authority to build the road from the beginning. In fact, VDOT is currently competing with the private company over who can build the road quicker, more efficiently, and with less cost to the Virginia taxpayer.
However, VDOT’s case is dismal. The toll road corporation has promised to complete the road by 1991, but VDOT could not possibly complete it until two years later. Also, according to a recently released study by the international consulting firm of Price Waterhouse, VDOT cannot operate the road for its promised $1.50 toll each way without ending up $309 million in the red after the life of the project.
But even more compelling is the comparison of the price tags between the toll road corporation and VDOT. If the private sector builds the road, there would be absolutely no cost to the taxpayer. If VDOT builds it, that means a cost of at least $181 million to the taxpayer over the next two years, not to mention other potential costs.
Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized VDOT’s actions. They believe VDOT has tuped the toll road corporation’s proposal into a confrontation between the private sector and the state. At a public hearing in Sterling, state Sen. Charles L. Wadell (D-Loudoun) said, “Setting up a competition between the public and private sector is sending a wrong signal to the private sector at a time when we need
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