Downtown Expressway, were large factors in the decline and subsequent decay in many urban areas of the city. Expansion The original toll revenue bonds were retired in 1975. However, in 1973, the General Assembly passed legislation which transferred the Authority's duties to the Virginia Department of Highways, the predecessor agency to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The Authority as an independent entity ceased to exist and the Board of Directors disbanded. In December 1973, additional bonds were issued to provide much-needed improvements to the heavily traveled highway. Unlike the original toll revenue bonds which were backed only by toll revenue, the new bonds were backed by the Commonwealth of Virginia. They were still funded by toll revenue but the bondholders had more security with state backing and thus offered lower interest rates. A primary factor in turning the turnpike over to the Virginia Department of Highways was to obtain full state control since the state was taking the risk on the bonds. The improvements included widening to six lanes of from just south of the James River Bridge at Richmond and complete reconstruction of the I-85 and I-95 interchange in downtown Petersburg. Several other major interchanges including Chester/Hopewell and Broad Street at downtown Richmond were also reconstructed. Once the bonds were paid off, toll revenue funded safety improvements on the entire turnpike which included sign and guardrail replacements as well as replacing most of the median guardrail with Jersey style concrete median barriers. Toll money was also spent on nearby road projects such as the Temple Avenue extension (State Route 144). Since interstate travelers were paying most of the tolls that was then being spent on other projects, toll removal became a local political issue that the General Assembly eventually decided to approximately coincide with the opening of the parallel Interstate 295. Tolls removed, modernization Tolls were removed from all portions of the former Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike in 1992, although the road now connects with several newer locally oriented toll facilities, including Richmond Metropolitan Authority's Downtown Expressway (State Route 195) which interchanges with the former Turnpike on the I-95 James River Bridge, and the Pocahontas Parkway (State Route 895) which connects I-95 at exit 67 with Interstate 295 and the Richmond International Airport. The original office building with the iconic "Richmond Petersburg Turnpike" lettering was located at exit 61A on southbound Interstate 95 and was used by VDOT until it