Light rail budget could climb again

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The Light Rail project is behind schedule and over budget and Norfolk business owners are losing patience.

"I go downtown several times a week and it's increasingly frustrating even to us since we've been living through it. It's become a real obstacle course downtown," says Quality Shop owner Reid Rapoport. His store has moved to a new location at Palace Shops because construction at the original spot on Plume Street was costing him customers.

Just one day after Norfolk city council members learned the project jumped from 288 to $328 million, a consultant hired by the city informed HRT executive board members the price tag could jump an additional $12.1 million to $340 million.

"This project started out at $232 million and it's projected to be a hundred million dollars more than what we started with," says Norfolk Councilman Randy Wright

As consultants try to iron out the exact cost of the project, Councilman Wright says the city is taking steps to save on contracts. "They've negotiated a total of about six million dollars, they think, off of the overall cost which would be about half of the $12.1 million, that's if everything stays in a perfect world."

For Norfolk businesses, a perfect world would be the finished product. Freemason Abbey's executive manager Lori Maddux says business hasn't been bad, but her customers pay the price getting there.

"You hear some people complain of course...because the road was closed. But they can call and we can get them here."

With so much at stake, the city is finally stepping up, says Councilman Wright. "We are no longer going to sit back as a city and rely on consultants and HRT and not be at the table in a broader, more meaningful way."

WAVY.com spoke with Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms. His city plans to move ahead with the $40 million purchase of Norfolk Southern's right-of-way and close by Thursday. He says he will not let mismanagement in Norfolk keep light rail from coming to the beach.