Richmond Times Dispatch
December 3, 2006

For the first time since 2003, Chesterfield County officials are entertaining some serious talk about extending the Powhite Parkway.

They remain tight-lipped about the details, but county leaders recently acknowledged they have been approached by firms interested in extending the toll road. At a summit on Chesterfield transportation issues last month, county Administrator Lane B. Ramsey said two entities have contacted the county about building a long-proposed new section.

The proposed extension would run about 9 miles from the current terminus to connect with Hull Street Road just east of Beaver Bridge Road. That path would take the extension through the 3,892-acre Magnolia Green tract, which is zoned for 4,886 residential units.  Ramsey declined last week to name the interested parties or offer other details.

The Powhite Parkway currently exists as two separate toll roads: a 3.4-mile stretch from Cary Street to the Chippenham Parkway that is operated by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority; and a section under the state highway department's control that extends an additional 10 miles to Old Hundred Road in Chesterfield.

The RMA section opened in January 1973. The VDOT stretch opened in November 1988.  The last time the project was seriously discussed was 2003, when VDOT received two competing bids to build the road.

The first was a $187.4 million proposal that came from Powhite Parkway Partners, a joint venture of Clark Construction Group Inc. of Bethesda, Md., and its subsidiary, Shirley Contracting Co. of Lorton. The second, a $149 million proposal, came from a partnership that included English Construction Co. Inc. of Lynchburg and Koch Performance Roads Inc. of Wichita, Kan.

Those proposals were made under the Private Public Transportation Act of 1995, which allows governments to partner with private companies to build needed public roads.  Ultimately, VDOT did not pursue the project at that time -- in part because of a lack of support from some local governments.

Officials with Shirley Contracting, English Construction and Koch Performance Roads all told The Times-Dispatch they have not recently contacted Chesterfield officials about building the extension.

Likewise, officials with Transurban, the international toll-road developer that operates the Pocahontas Parkway, said they are not pursuing the extension.

If the extension is built, Chesterfield planning officials say it could spur the development of more homes and businesses in a section of the county that is already booming.

The 1991 Magnolia Green rezoning plan required landowners to dedicate some right-of-way for the project, and it also gave the county the option to purchase additional right-of-way. Chesterfield is doing so for about $2.5 million.  "With that piece [of land], we have close to half the right-of-way locked up," said county Transportation Director R.J. "John" McCracken.

Building the Powhite Parkway extension today would cost $200 million-$300 million, McCracken estimated, adding that there is no timetable associated with the proposed extension.

County Planning Director Kirk Turner said that land around the proposed extension can accommodate a maximum of 22,662 residential units and more than 10.8 million square feet of commercial and industrial space.

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