CVTA commits $4 million in interest earnings to Fall Line design‑build 2 to close funding gap

The Central Virginia Transportation Authority voted June 6 to commit $4,000,000 in FY24 interest earnings to the Fall Line design‑build 2 project and to allocate $1,050,000 of the same FY24 interest set‑aside to the authority’s regional project balance entry.

Chet Parsons, the authority’s executive director, told members the authority had earlier set aside roughly $5,050,000 from FY24 interest earnings for project applications and contingency. Parsons said bids for the Fall Line design‑build 2 work had arrived and the project now faces an approximately $10,200,000 cost increase. He recommended using $4,000,000 of the set‑aside to help get the project awarded and under construction and placing the remaining $1,050,000 into the regional project balance entry.

Parsons said that, based on conversations with the Virginia Department of Transportation and other partners, “if the authority was able to contribute that $4,000,000, the remainder … would be able to be recouped through state funds,” meaning the local commitment would leverage state matching or reimbursement opportunities.

Members moved and seconded the finance committee’s recommendation. During the roll call the chair’s clerk called members by name; a sequence of recorded responses showed the motion carried. The vote tally recorded in the meeting minutes reflects affirmative votes from multiple members and the chair. The motion was recorded in the meeting packet as the authority’s commitment of interest earnings to the Fall Line project and to the regional project balance entry.

The Fall Line design‑build 2 project was described in the packet as a roughly 10‑mile section of trail extending from Chester Linear Park in Chesterfield County south through the Richmond area, across the Appomattox to Patton Park. Parsons said design‑build 1 (Ashland through Hanover County into Henrico) is nearly ready for ribbon cutting and that design‑build 2 was at the award phase when bids produced the current cost delta.

The finance committee had recommended the split of funds; committee members said the allocation is intended to help address cost escalations and inflation pressures that many local governments are experiencing while preserving the authority’s ability to support other regional projects.

Next steps noted in the meeting: staff will finalize the paperwork to apply the committed interest earnings as described, and the authority will continue coordination with VDOT and local partner jurisdictions on award, reimbursement, and funding reciprocity. The authority’s investment and finance materials referenced the recommendation and show the underlying FY24 interest set‑aside in the packet (page 11).