Sign In
Free Newsletter
A practical plan for U.S. 220
Picture an hourglass: Flip the timer over, and the sand at the top funnels through a small opening to pool in the wider receptacle at its bottom. Now imagine if that hole in the middle were wider; sand would flow more freely. That’s how business leaders in Martinsville see the U.S. Route 220 corridor between […]
LAKSHMI WILLIAMS
Lakshmi Williams’ 30-plus-year career as a lawyer has run the gamut in terms of industries she’s worked with, including software, nonprofit, energy, and transportation. But she finds her role as general counsel and corporate secretary at toll road operator Transurban North America in Tysons, which she’s held for nearly a dozen years, to be particularly […]
Assembled with care
If you’re trying to visualize what powers manufacturing growth around Roanoke these days, picture 3D-printed helicopter blades and robotics, not old-style grommets. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing produces objects by creating a series of consecutive layers, as opposed to “subtractive” manufacturing, which removes material to carve out an object. Advanced manufacturing c[...]
Metro passes $4.8B budget for FY25
Metro’s board of directors on Thursday passed a $4.8 billion capital and operations budget for fiscal year 2025, which avoids massive service cuts, although fares will increase by 12.5% beginning July 1. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which oversees the Metrorail and Metrobus public transportation systems, had warned of “catastrophic” cuts to service because [...]
HRBT expansion’s first tunnel boring is complete
Mary, the tunnel boring machine that has been paving the way for the expanded Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, hit a milestone Wednesday when she finished the first of twin tunnels that are part of the bridge-tunnel’s expansion. Launched from the HRBT’s South Island a year ago, the $70 million custom-built tunnel boring machine has been busy — […]
A sampling of Virginia’s major road projects
HAMPTON ROADS Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project Work continues on Virginia’s largest high- way construction project, the $3.9 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) expansion. The project will widen the four-lane segments of the 9.9-mile Interstate 64 corridor between Norfolk and Hampton to six lanes on land and eight over the water with twin two-lane tunnels. […]
Electra aircraft backlog hits $8B
Manassas-based aviation startup Electra.aero has surpassed 2,000 orders for the electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft it’s developing, totaling an $8 billion backlog, the company announced Tuesday. Electra signed a letter of intent in December 2023 to deliver its blown-lift, fixed-wing eSTOL aircraft to Finnish regional private air carrier startup Lygg, followed by similar [&he[...]
New Transurban North Am. prez comes from public sector
Beau Memory, Transurban’s new North America president, joined the Australian transportation company that operates express toll lanes in Northern Virginia in November with more than 20 years of public-sector transportation experience. In an interview last week with Virginia Business, the Tysons-based Memory says he’s still getting acclimated to Northern Virginia. “I’m still [...]
$729M federal transportation package will finish Long Bridge expansion
The most significant rail choke point on the East Coast will be fixed as part of a $729 million federal funding package for transportation projects in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday at an event in Arlington County also attended by a […]
Raleigh-to-Richmond rail project receives $1B federal grant
A passenger rail route between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond will receive a $1 billion U.S. Department of Transportation grant, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, announced Tuesday. The approximate 162-mile route will be along the currently out-of-service CSX Transportation “S-Line” as part of a Southeast corridor to connect North Carolina with Virginia, Washington, D.C., [&helli[...]
Tourism gains steam with scenic train tour
Virginia Scenic Railway’s new Shenandoah Valley Limited proved just the ticket for seasonal leaf-peepers and train enthusiasts, drawing thousands of visitors to Goshen this fall. The iconic Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611, known as the “Queen of Steam,” is one of the last extant mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States. […]
Va. joins collaborative to launch air taxi industry
Virginia has joined seven other states in forming a collaborative to support the growth of the advanced air mobility industry. The Advanced Air Mobility Multistate Collaborative represents all aviation modes, including small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) and electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL), which are both often referred to as air taxis, as well […]
