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Del. William Fralin named to Commonwealth Transportation Board

He will represent the Salem District in the seat formerly held by Dana Martin.

William Fralin

Heywood Fralin

Jeff Sturgeon | 981-3251

Friday, August 16, 2013

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday named former Del. William Fralin of Roanoke to the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Effective immediately, the 50-year-old Fralin becomes the board representative for the Salem District of the Virginia Department of Transportation, which consists of the Roanoke and New River valleys and Carroll, Patrick and Henry counties. The nursing home executive will occupy the seat formerly held by Dana Martin, who completed his term of service on the board June 30. Fralin’s term on the 17-member policy commission is for four years.

Fralin said Friday that he looks forward to the duty of allocating state transportation money, because transportation is a long-standing interest and important to Roanoke.

“Roanoke has, if you think about it, a transportation-based economy,” Fralin said, naming the local operations of Norfolk Southern Corp., freight traffic on area interstates and primary roads and industries such as health care and banking that he said depend on a high-functioning transportation network.

Fralin declined to say what he thinks is lacking in the transportation network that he might be able to do something about. Virginia’s new transportation dollars, furnished by 2013 legislation, warrant “some prioritization,” he said. That work is already under way by the CTB, which next meets on Sept. 17.

Fralin is president and CEO of Medical Facilities of America, a Roanoke County-based chain of 40 nursing homes. He served three terms in the House of Delegates, ending in 2009. During his time in the General Assembly, he sat on the transportation committee.

Transportation has “always been an interest of mine and I made that known” to those in state government, Fralin said. However, he said he didn’t petition or apply to the governor for the job.

As recently as earlier this week, Fralin belonged to the Virginia Port Authority’s board of commissioners, another transportation-related body. Fralin said he “had to” give up that position to join the CTB and on Friday the port agency said Fralin had left its board effective immediately.

Saturday, September 14, 2013