Congressman Gerry Connolly today sent Virginia Governor Tim Kaine a list of “shovel-ready” projects that are worthy of funding with money the Commonwealth of Virginia is receiving under the federal economic recovery act.

Connolly’s list, developed in conjunction with local government leaders in the 11th CD, includes $60 million to purchase 15 new locomotives for the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), $4 million to purchase 8 new OmniRide buses for the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) in Prince William County, and $60 million to complete the Fairfax County Parkway through the Engineer Proving Ground in Fairfax County.

Connolly said that transportation and infrastructure funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama , is channeled through state government.

In his letter to Kaine (attached), Congressman Connolly said, “While I realize it will be impossible to fund every project on this list, I commend all of them to you as high-quality candidates for Recovery Act funding.  Advancing these projects would meet outstanding needs in our communities and create jobs by completing long-overdue transportation fixes, providing new multi-modal connections, expanding access to mass transit and repairing our aging water/wastewater infrastructure.”

Connolly said he would continue to work with Kaine on economic recovery projects as well as exploring opportunities to spur quicker completion of Rail to Dulles, “which will provide long-term economic benefits for Northern Virginia and the entire Commonwealth.”  Connolly also praised Kaine for his leadership “in working to make sure every penny of the economic recovery funding is put to good use for the benefit of all Virginians.”