RICHMOND - Gov. Mark Warner will ask state lawmakers to approve an $824 million transportation package that would erase debts on completed projects, help finance private highway-building efforts and modestly increase spending for road construction and maintenance.

The governor also wants to establish a dedicated revenue source for rail improvements and assist city and county governments seeking to take charge of local road projects. Warner proposed paying for the plan with $350 million from a projected general fund budget surplus and $450.4 million from growth in state and federal transportation revenues. He proposes that $23.6 million be redirected from the general fund budget. The proposed general fund spending would effectively restore money that has been diverted from the transportation trust fund to fund other programs.

Warner's Transportation Partnership Act of 2005 will be included in budget amendments he presents to the General Assembly's key money committees next week.

"I believe our plan will improve the quality of our citizens' lives, ease traffic congestion and help sustain Virginia's rebounding economy," Warner said in a state Capitol news conference that was packed with lawmakers, city and county government officials and representatives of major transportation-related industries.

Warner's plan figures to be one of many transportation funding proposals to hit lawmakers' desks in the legislative session that begins Jan. 12. The Democratic governor said he would keep an open mind about proposals for additional funding that may come from the Republican-controlled assembly.

House of Delegates Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said Warner has an opportunity to find common ground with Republicans on transportation funding. House GOP leaders also are developing a proposal, Griffith said.

"Based on what he [Warner] said this morning, it sounds reasonable," said Griffith, who received an overview of Warner's plan before the governor's press conference.

Warner called his proposal "one of the largest cash infusions into transportation in Virginia history." But he acknowledged that it will not cure a funding crisis identified by his own administration.

Virginia Department of Transportation officials have warned that the state could run out of money for road construction by 2014 without new sources of revenue, because debt service, maintenance and routine operating costs are growing at a faster rate than revenues.

"This will not, in the end, solve all of our transportation issues," Warner said. "It will be trying new ways to deal with transportation."

Dick Daugherity, a member of an advocacy organization called Virginians for Better Transportation, described Warner's proposal as "a temporary measure that would provide some immediate relief."

"It would buy us some time to develop a more comprehensive solution to the transportation funding crisis," Daugherity said.

Warner proposed spending $256.4 million to erase deficits on 35 completed highway projects, including the Smart Road and U.S. 460 bypass in Montgomery County and three other projects in VDOT's Salem District. He said the elimination of those deficits is critical to fully restoring the integrity of VDOT's six-year road plan. VDOT had accumulated $867 million in deficits when Warner took office in 2002.

"By paying off our debts, we make clear that the projects that are in the six-year plan will be funded appropriately and in a timely manner," Warner said.

Warner also called for the creation of a $140 million revolving loan fund to assist public-private partnerships on projects such as a proposed widening of Interstate 81. Warner said "venture loans" could help cover a project's front-end costs or allow a revenue stream - such as toll proceeds - more time to grow.

The governor also proposed allowing localities to assume control of road projects within their jurisdictions on a voluntary basis, saying the move could reduce red tape and increase efficiency. And he proposed spending $23 million to create the first dedicated funding source for rail improvements. Warner said the lack of a stable funding source has stalled improvements to freight and passenger rail infrastructure.

"Without a dedicated funding source, these will remain ideas that we simply talk about and study and never move to action," Warner said.