The Times-Dispatch Tackles Route 288

Kudos to the Richmond Times-Dispatch and lead writer Michael Martz for their in-depth look at state Route 288 (which our own Bob Burke had treated thematically in "When Good Highways Go Bad," on Sept. 12).

"ROUTE 288: Road to riches" is the T-D's best reporting on the politics behind a major road projects that I've seen in 20 years of reading the newspaper. The three main articles include:

"How It Came to Be"

"Road to toll-free 288 was bumpy for state financially"

"What's coming next"

Long-time T-D critics may find much to criticize: Why wasn't the T-D laying bare this information before the $434 million road was built? What conclusions can be drawn from this project? (The articles themselves don't really draw any.) Why hasn't the T-D's editorial page followed up with commentary on public policy lessons to be learned? For my part, I am grateful for the T-D effort and have found a wealth of information to mine. I will follow up with a few observations of my own in subsequent posts.