Followups – June 2016

Published May 28, 2016 by Virginia Business

VDOT announces $125 million in Richmond-area paving projects

The Virginia Department of Transportation says the paving program for its Richmond District is the largest ever for the region, in terms of lane miles and total spending.

The district will spend $125 million in resurfacing 1,540 lane miles of state-maintained roads, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The Richmond district is responsible for about 18,000 miles of roads. It oversees maintenance and construction in Amelia, Brunswick, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, New Kent, Nottoway, Powhatan and Prince George counties and the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg.

The newspaper reported that $27 million will be spent on local interstate sections, including 78 miles of asphalt paving and 18 lane miles of concrete repairs, on sections of Interstates 95, 295, 85 and 195.

May’s issue of Virginia Business included an interview with Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne, who discussed the commonwealth’s new formula for transportation funding.

Volkswagen to pay $8.8 billion to repair or buy back diesel vehicles

Volkswagen Group expects to spend about $8.8 billion to repair or buy back diesel vehicles affected by an emissions software scandal.
Volkswagen Group of America is based in Herndon.

USA Today reports that the German automaker has struck a tentative civil settlement with the U.S. government, California authorities and consumers over the episode, which affects 11 million vehicles worldwide.

The settlement gives U.S. owners the option of buybacks or compensation. The agreement also includes a requirement to invest in environmentally friendly vehicles.
Volkswagen estimates that the total bill for the scandal will top $18 billion.

Volkswagen engineers installed “defeat device” software in its diesel vehicles. The software lowered emissions during testing but allowed higher emissions during normal driving to give the cars more power.