This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. Maine, Colorado and Vermont also have shut some down to save money.Ĭopyright © 2010 NPR. But even as Virginia reopens its rest areas, New York's governor this weekend proposed closing some there. He says drivers do, in fact, stop more often in places where rest areas are available. John Townsend, of the AAA Motor Club, applauded the decision. The state now plans to cut money instead from road maintenance, and also will seek private donations to fund the facilities. HOCHBERG: Former Governor Tim Kaine hoped to save about $9 million a year closing about half of Virginia's rest areas. It's exactly the opposite signal that I need to send to people across the country. Governor BOB MCDONNELL (Republican, Virginia): For our travelers that come to Virginia, that see tape across the entrance to the rest stop, its a sign that Virginia is closed for business. During the campaign, he criticized his predecessor for shutting the facilities down and yesterday, he announced theyll start reopening next month. Virginia shut down its highway stops but yesterday, the state announced that it's reopening 19 of them.ĪDAM HOCHBERG: The decision to reopen the rest stops is one of the first actions of Virginia's new governor, Republican Bob McDonnell, who took office just this past weekend. And one of the ways states have tried to cut budget deficits is by closing interstate rest stops - I guess on the theory that every little bit counts.
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