Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has found sponsors from both parties for his $4 billion omnibus transportation plan — including Chuck Colgan, D-Prince William, the Senate Finance Committee Chairman and president pro tempore of the General Assembly’s upper chamber.

House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, will carry the bill in the House. Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, will join Colgan as a sponsor in the Senate.

“There are no Democratic or Republican roads,” McDonnell said. “A senior Republican from Southwest Virginia and a senior Democrat from Northern Virginia are the perfect chief patrons of this statewide effort. We were all sent to Richmond to accomplish big things for our citizens, and now is the time to get new roads built in the commonwealth.”

There are 15 other Senators who have signed on as patrons, including Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania; Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk; Phillip Puckett, D-Tazewell; and Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville.

McDonnell has encountered skepticism from both sides of the aisle on the funding proposal, about $3 billion of which would come from issuing bonds. But with five Democrats ostensibly behind the bill, the numbers could work to push the legislation through the Senate if those in McDonnell's own party hold the line.