US 460

The US state of Virginia has issued a notice regarding the cancellation of its $1.4bn highway contract with Ferrovial Agroman and American Infrastructure for the delivery of the Route 460 project.

Virginia transportation secretary Layne said: “The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), with the support of the McAuliffe administration, has provided a notice of termination to US 460 Mobility Partners for Route 460 construction.

“The commonwealth has determined it is in the taxpayers’ best interest to terminate the contract. VDOT tried to work with the contractor to deliver the revised project in a cost-effective manner.”

“VDOT tried to work with the contractor to deliver the revised project in a cost-effective manner.”

The state of Virginia will pursue all options available to do the best for the public interest, and plans to proceed with completing environmental work on the project.

The US Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a new location in February for the project, which is expected to cover 17 miles from Suffolk to west of Zuni.

The VDOT and its federal partners identified that the alternative has the possibility of qualifying for a permit.

In late 2012, a contract was awarded under the previous administration to the US 460 Mobility Partners to design and build a new 55-mile limited access highway.

Layne suspended contract work in March 2014 after studying that the alignment would not receive a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers due to wetland impacts.

Following the announcement of contract suspension, all work was completely focused on identifying a permittable project.

The VDOT, the Corps and the US Federal Highway Administration identified a different alternative by February that would have less wetland impacts in addition to qualifying for a permit.

Image: In February, the US Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the location for US 460 corridor improvements. Photo: courtesy of VDOT.