The two are a lot more related than you’d think.
One of Governor Bob McDonnell’s first acts upon taking office was to have VDOT begin the process of reopening Virginia’s rest areas [1] that had been shuttered due to budget cuts:
Under the plan approved today, the Virginia Department of Transportation will use $3 million from its maintenance reserve fund to operate the facilities through the remainder of this fiscal year which ends June 30. Long-term funding for the rest areas will be identified as VDOT revises its maintenance budget this spring. The maximum anticipated cost for FY 2011 is $7.5 million.
As RVANews noted this weekend in an article about road maintenance in the Richmond area [2], VDOT assists Virginia counties in clearing and maintaining the roads. Those funds come straight from the “maintenance reserve fund” which now has a $3 million, well, pothole in it. And when much of the state is recovering from one of the worst snow storms in a long time, that pinch may be felt sonner rather than later.
But at least you won’t have to hold it.