Got traffic?

Transportation challenges dominated the governor’s race last year. Traffic seems to grow worse every week in Northern Virginia, and this season’s winter woes birthed thousands of potholes, worsening the normal upkeep challenges.

Virginia’s secretary of transportation has to be the one of the most difficult – and thankless—jobs in the state.

Sean Connaughton was named by Gov. Bob McDonnell to the post in December to manage the state’s roads, rails and ports. He brings a long resume in transportation roles to the position, as well as a Northern Virginia angle: he was chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors from 2000 to 2006. He has also been a daily commuter in Northern Virginia for 25 years.

Connaughton sat down with the Times-Mirror March 18 for a Q&A interview, after addressing the Committee for Dulles luncheon in Herndon. He touched on statewide transportation issues, as well as local concerns in Loudoun, Fauquier and Fairfax counties.

Q. What qualified you to be secretary of transportation?

Connaughton: My entire career and background has been in transportation, and I have a degree in marine transportation. I also think my experience in local government helps. In Prince William, I also established our own county transportation department, and that allowed us to build our own roads. I also helped push through two large bond issues [on transportation projects].

Q. What were some of the lessons about transportation that you learned from your time leading Prince William County?

Connaughton: It got me very sensitive to the inefficiencies in the current transportation system, which we are going to seek to reform. It taught me to learn that you have to really focus on moving projects forward, and also that there are no easy “outs” when it comes to transportation fixes.  And a big part of the solution on transportation is involving local governments and the business community.

Q: How did transportation fare in the state budget this year?

Connaughton: There’s good news and bad news. We were not really impacted in this session of the General Assembly [that just concluded]. The bad news is that it is because we already saw a decline in revenues to the commonwealth transportation fund, and we had already made multibillion adjustments to the funding.

Q: Why did the governor decline to address transportation issues in this past session, and did you support that decision? It was one that drew heavy criticism.

Connaughton: The governor had to focus on three matters in this session: first, the budget. Second, job creation. Third, education reform. Now, it’s time to move on to the next agenda items. The General Assembly is only in for a very short time, and you can only take on so many issues at once.

Q: So, are we going to have a special session of the General Assembly to deal solely with transportation issues and funding later in 2010?

Connaughton: A lot is going to be driven by whether we can reach a consensus on these matters. Consequently, the governor will make that decision after he sees progress and feels that a consensus is emerging.

Q: And who needs to be a part of that consensus?

Connaughton: That would include the public, business community, local governments, Democrats – it’s everyone.

Q: So, has there ever truly been a consensus on transportation? If so, when was that?

Connaughton: I think at different times, there has been. You have had consensus before on specific initiatives. But there probably hasn’t been a comprehensive consensus since the 1980s.

Q. Can you address the strong feelings many have about the inequality of transportation funding for Northern Virginia, given the amount of taxes this area sends down to Richmond?

Connaughton: Being in this job, I’ve heard from representatives from every segment of the commonwealth, and each one has the same complaint. Each one thinks there are geographic inequities. I don’t know how to resolve this perception, but each area perceives that another region is getting all the money.

Q: What about raising taxes – such as adding to the state sales tax – to help address our transportation funding issues? Not increased fees, but broad taxes?
Connaughton: The governor has laid out a fairly strong position on taxes, and this is not the time to raise taxes.

Q: Regarding the rail to Dulles Airport project—do you think the rail line should have gone underground at Tysons Corner?

Connaugton: The costs for that were too extensive. When you’ve built it, people won’t even notice it’s there upon completion.

Q: Do you think Tysons Corner businesses are going to be hurt during this period of construction?

Connaughton: No not at all. I think the opposite is happening. Businesses are staying right where they are. Now that the project is a reality, you sit there and go, “I want to be near it.” It’s not only going to be a transportation asset but a great economic development asset as well. It’s going to change the basic economics of the Tysons area. I think land values will eventually go up dramatically.

Q: Let’s talk about some local projects in Loudoun County.

Connaughton: There are various projects, such as finishing Route 28 and making modifications to Route 7. There have also been discussions about Route 15 and Route 606, like better circulation around the airport, and roads in general around the airport.