has been halted indefinitely. History In November 1999, the City of Virginia Beach conducted a referendum regarding the construction and operation of light rail into Virginia Beach along the Norfolk Southern (NS) railroad line. The proposed route would connect downtown Norfolk to the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The referendum led to a community discussion of the proposed light rail and feeder bus system. Local media and special interest groups debated the matter in great detail, using information provided by a Draft Environmental impact statement (DEIS). Voters of Virginia Beach rejected the proposed light rail system citing possible unwanted bad elements a passenger train could bring. Virginia Beach City Council then passed a 10-year resolution declaring that the city would no longer have any future involvement in the proposed light rail line. Years later, a major economic and development hub was built along the NS corridor, known as Virginia Beach Town Center. The new Town Center, along with record high gas prices in 2008, changed the narrative and resulted in new public interest in rail again. Virginia Beach then purchased the section of track within their jurisdiction from NS. In April 2012, the Virginia Beach City Council voted 10–1 to allow voters to determine the fate of the extension in the November 2012 general election. In the April 2011 State of the City, Sessoms said "whether the corridor is eventually developed with Bus Rapid Transit or a light rail line is unknown at this time," citing cost and ridership issues. In April 2011, HRT paused the study until 9–12 months of ridership data from the Tide Light Rail in Norfolk is collected. In November 2012, voters approved a non-binding referendum supporting expansion of light rail into Virginia Beach by a 62 percent majority. A study to fix costs for the project will be completed in 2014. The State of Virginia has pledged $155 million towards the extension to Virginia Beach, as well as lending up to $30 million from the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank. The final route selected by the Virginia Beach City Council was the 3.5 mile short extension to the Town Center at Virginia Beach in mid-2015. On November 8, 2016, after a successful vote four years earlier and a 30 percent Preliminary Design finished a month earlier, 57 percent of Virginia Beach voters disapproved the referendum regarding to use city funds to pay part of the Town Center extension,