We had a story on the news tonight that I found a little surprising.

I have no doubt that if you live or shop in Roanoke that you’ve noticed the massive landscaping project happening on Hershberger Road at the I-518 interchange. We’ve gotten many calls and emails about it and I’ve had several people stop and ask me about it. The basic questions: how much is all this costing and who’s paying for it?

WSLS reporter Meaghan Farley got the answers to those questions today. First, the cost for the first phase of the project was next to nothing for Roanoke City: 2% of the cost of the project or $11,000.

So, who paid for the rest? VDOT did. Their total came to $564,000.

This is the same VDOT that recently had to lay off hundreds of workers, delay construction projects, and stop mowing on the side of the interstate and other VDOT maintained roads.

It’s the same VDOT that saw its budget shrink by a third over two years (according to the Richmond Times Dispatch).

This is also the same state that was at one point forced to close its rest stops to balance the budget.

So, why is VDOT spending $564,000 on some trees and sod on Hershberger Road? Meaghan found out the money was allocated from the 2005 and 2006 budget. But still, they couldn’t find a better use for the money? And I am sure if they were spending that money in Roanoke that similar projects were happening in cities like Newport News, Richmond, Springfield, Arlington, Winchester, Harrisonburg, and Reston.

Why not apply all that money to construction projects that would make our roads safer? Maintain or bridges? Widen I-81? Address congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads? Yes, those projects are in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. But, every savings can help.

I know it’s overly simplistic to make assertions like that. The money comes from different pots and can’t be moved around that easily. But, there is one point that is for sure… that $564,000 is our money and I have serious doubts that a few trees and some grass is the best use for it during a severe recession and one of the biggest budget crises the commonwealth has ever seen.