Breakfast links: The cost of roads

Virginia borrow-for-roads bill advances

The $4 billion package of spending on Virginia roads advanced to final passage in the state House yesterday, despite concerns that nearly three quarters of the money is borrowed. (WUSA)

Maryland may increase tolls

The Maryland Transportation Authority may raise tolls on the state’s bridges and tunnels an average of 75 cents, which it says is necessary to pay back the bonds issued to build the ICC, a toll-road. (Dr. Gridlock)

Northern Virginia grows quickly

Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties accounted for 40% of Virginia’s growth over the last decade. Loudoun’s population nearly doubled to 312,000. (WUSA)

How did the candidates do?

NBC Washington has a good summary of last night’s candidate debate, and the main points where each candidate either shone or seemed to get tripped up. Here’s the video of the event.

Adams Morgan streetscape project starts soon

18th Street NW between Florida Avenue and Columbia Road will be getting a new look starting later this month.  The project will take about 15 months. (TBD)

Metro stations, long ago

An old sign at WMATA HQ shows an old list of station names, including Federal City College, Gallows Road, Chillum… and no slashes, dashes and tacked-on acronyms. (DCist)

Convention Center hotel construction closes sidewalk

Though DDOT instituted rules in 2007 to prevent complete sidewalk closure, the Convention Center hotel project seems to have slipped through the cracks. (TBD)

Social Security chooses suburban location for new center

Apparently Woodlawn was not sprawling or suburban enough for the Social Security Administration, which has chosen to place its new National Support Center in Urbana a far-flung suburb near the city of Frederick. (Baltimore Sun)

And…

A Springfield man has developed an app that helps users report potholes by using the phone’s GPS to e-mail the appropriate roads agency. (WTOP) … Jim Webb (D-VA) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) want to rededicate the DC World War I memorial as the National WWI Memorial. (WUSA) … Former Mayor Adrian Fenty has taken a job at Arlington-based language-learning software company Rosetta Stone.