The two-year $625 million spending plan includes widening U.S. 17 in Stafford, improving and repairing the Fredericksburg train station, expanding U.S. 15 and U.S. 29 in Culpeper, and rebuilding the entrance to Montpelier in Orange County.

Warner wants to use a portion of auto insurance premium taxes, already being paid by Virginia drivers, to pay for $286 million worth of public-transportation and bond projects. The General Assembly has approved using this money for transportation needs.

Kaine released a statement saying Warner's proposal "strikes a balance between roads and alternate forms of transportation that is crucial to the success of overcoming the challenges we face."

Among the alternatives: $1 million to promote telecommuting and $200,000 for bike and pedestrian trails. There's also several million to widen Interstate 66 within the Capitol Beltway.

"These are one-time capital projects. They're important. I'm glad he's moving forward in that regard," said Chichester, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is a key participant in budget negotiations.

But the general fund is the pot of money the state uses to pay for a multitude of needs, including education, higher education, health care and public safety. It should not be used for transportation beyond the next two years, Chichester said.

"We're still facing what we call the long-term dilemma, which is something the General Assembly will have to wrestle with in order to find a permanent source of revenue," Chichester said. "We've got to find a new source of revenue and it can't be the general fund."

Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania and a member of the Finance Committee, supports Warner's use of insurance premium taxes to pay for bond projects and public transportation.

"I think that makes a lot of sense," Houck said. "It's getting a source of revenue that's related to transportation and leveraging it in terms of debt financing."

Houck was less enthusiastic about the general fund allocation. He noted Warner's suggested $339 million payment is roughly equal to what the state previously spent on education incentive programs. These are items school districts are not required to provide, but the state helps fund, including dropout prevention and class-size reductions.

Warner revealed his budget at a Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting in Richmond. He recapped accomplishments at the Virginia Department of Transportation since 2001, when he was elected.

He pointed out VDOT projects met their budgets 40 percent to 50 percent of the time in 2001. Today, it's 75 percent. Then, VDOT had an on-time project completion rate of 20 percent to 30 percent. It's 78 percent today, Warner said.

Following Warner's speech, the 17-member Commonwealth Transportation Board approved an $84.4 million package of Rail Enhancement Funds. The program's goal is to move cars and trucks off state roads.

It includes $3.5 million to help build a new Virginia Railway Express station in eastern Prince William County on VRE's Fredericksburg line. The Cherry Hill station project will add a third railway track, build a station facility and a parking lot.

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