AASHTO Journal - Virginia DOT Budget, Six-Year Improvement Plan Approved

Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved the fiscal year 2022 budgets for the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Department of Rail and Public Transportation or DRPT, and the Six-Year Improvement Program, which allocates $24 billion to highway, rail, and public transportation projects between FY 2022 and 2027.

[Above photo by the Virginia DOT]

“The budgets and six-year program approved will advance our Commonwealth’s commitment to improving and maintaining infrastructure through the most critically needed projects,” noted Shannon Valentine, Virginia’s secretary of transportation, in a statement.

Shannon Valentine. Photo by the Virginia DOT.

“The range of projects included will allow us to build and sustain economic opportunity for all Virginians,” she said.

Appointed by the governor, the 17-member Commonwealth Transportation Board establishes the administrative policies and approves funding allocation for Virginia’s transportation system.

The board approved Virginia DOT’s $7.2 billion budget along with $17.2 billion for its highway construction program, which provides funding to 3,700 projects. That includes $800 million in funding for the agency’s Interstate Operations and Enhancement program, established in April 2020 to improve the safety, reliability, and travel flow along interstate highway corridors crisscrossing the state.

That $17.2 billion also includes $500 million for the new Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program and another $500 million for the new Special Structure funding program. Meanwhile, Virginia DOT’s “Smart Scale” prioritization program received $1.3 billion dedicated for round four of its grant dispersals.

Concurrently, DRPT received approval for its $860.3 million operating budget as well as $5.8 billion in allocations for rail and public transportation projects, including $4.2 billion for transit and transportation demand management initiatives along with $1.6 billion for rail planning and preservation.