Virginia governor, contractor reach refund deal on Route 460 project

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and U.S. 460 Mobility Partners, the firm hired to run the canceled U.S. Route 460 Corridor Improvements Project in a public-private venture, said a refund deal has been reached.

The company has agreed to re-pay taxpayers $46 million in spent funds and cancel a claim for the remaining $103 million for the project.

The deal was reached after several months of meetings and negotiations between U.S. 460 Mobility Partners and McAuliffe.

“This settlement will bring millions in taxpayer dollars that were wasted on the U.S. Route 460 project back to taxpayers and prevent the Commonwealth from having to pay millions more,” McAuliffe said. “While this is a positive development, the fact remains that Virginians have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a project that will never be built because state officials negotiated a contract that left the Commonwealth holding the bag when the environmental risks were too great to move forward. I regret that that contract did not allow for greater steps to mitigate the impact of this failed project, but I am proud of the bipartisan reforms we worked with leaders like Delegate Chris Jones ... to prevent disasters like this from occurring in the future.”

“There will be no way to duck responsibility for transportation decisions,” Virginia Department of Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said. “It will protect taxpayers from undue risk, while using the P3 process in the intended way to deliver projects that move Virginia’s economy.”