After putting a hold for months on some highway contracts because of a budget squeeze, the Virginia Dept. of Transportation is gradually unfreezing much of that work.
VDOT had frozen about 120 contracts totaling $255 million that were awarded between last October and January, but not yet executed. The decisions to put the work on hold were made starting late last year. "Because of budget considerations and also the downturn in the economy, VDOT knew that we needed to prepare for this," says Tamara Neale, a department spokesperson.