State officials are seeking comments on a draft plan that sets out projects anticipated to be completed under the Public-Private Transportation Act in coming years.

Under consideration as a candidate project is a Route 460/58 connector. The project is still in the conceptual stage. Engineers are looking at solutions that would take traffic from the current Route 58 bypass onto the new Route 460.

An additional conceptual project would study “roadway access enhancements” to encourage long-term business development on the new Route 460 roadway.

Construction on the new Route 460 is set to begin in December 2014, with the road set to open in 2018. Tolls are currently set to begin at 7 cents per mile for cars and 21 cents for trucks, translating to $3.69 and $11.72, respectively, for the entire 55-mile route between Suffolk and Petersburg.

The road could cost the state as much as $1.4 billion, but the state has applied for a federal loan program to get a lower interest rate. US 460 Mobility Partners will construct the road.

The project has been a top transportation priority of Gov. Bob McDonnell ever since he took office four years ago. Saying that the new road would help encourage commerce and provide a safer alternative in cases of hurricane evacuation, the governor has pushed the road ahead of many other projects.

A report on the connector project is set to be initiated next month. Jackie Cromwell of the Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships said the report would look at different ways the connector could be constructed.

“There is a menu of different scenarios of ways we could deliver this transportation need,” she said.

The project was identified as a need by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, Cromwell added. It if makes it through the conceptual stage, it would advance to a stage that would study the project in greater detail.

Other area projects listed as candidates include Hampton Roads crossing improvements, which would include improvements at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel as well as other proposed third crossing options.

The public is invited to comment on the project pipeline.

“We want feedback from transportation stakeholders,” Cromwell said.

Comments may be sent directly to Jennifer.Palacios@vdot.virginia.gov. The deadline for comments is Aug. 1. For more information, visit www.vappta.org.