Publications

Heard Along the Highway, June 17, 2010

CTB ADOPTS NEW SIX-YEAR IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM & ANNUAL BUDGET

At yesterday's Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting, the CTB adopted both a new Six-Year Improvement Plan and annual budget. The Fiscal Years 2011 - 2016 Six-Year Improvement Plan allocates $23.0 billion over the period. (The revised FY 2010 - 2015 Plan was $22.5 billion, and the revised FY 2009 - 2014 Plan was $24.4 billion).

Of the money allocated:

  • 48% or $11.2 billion is dedicated to highway maintenance.
  • 22% or $5.1 billion is for construction (Earmarks & Special Financing and Highway Systems Construction). The state's 2011-16 transportation capital-improvement program provides $7.8 billion for highway construction and rail and public transit projects, down 26.4 percent from the six-year program adopted only two years ago.
  • Debt service consumes $1.6 billion or 7%

The recommended VDOT FY 2011 Budget totals $3.32 billion, a 1.6% reduction from the $3.38 billion Revised FY 2010 Budget.

Allocations to systems under the new 6-YIP will be:

  Approved 
FY 2009-2014		 Revised
FY 2009-2014		 Approved
FY 2010-2015		 Revised 
FY 2010-2015		 Proposed
FY 2011-2016
Interstate $2.1 b $1.4 b $1.3 b $1.4 b $1.4 b
Primary $1.6 b $1.3 b $1.0 b $1.1 b $1.2 b
Secondary $1.0 b $0.6 b $0.5 b $0.3 b $0.3 b
Urban $0.8b $0.5 b $0.4 b $0.3 b $0.3 b
Federal Maintenance $1.0b $1.2 b $1.2 b $1.3 b $1.4 b
MPO $0.6 b $0.5 b $0.5 b $0.6 b $0.4 b
Safety, Enh, Rail, Other $0.8 b $0.5 b $0.5 b $0.5 b $0.7 b
Total $7.9 b $6.0 b $5.4 b $5.5 b $5.7 b

However, the state is allocating less than half of what the Virginia Department of Transportation believes is needed to keep Virginia's highways from falling apart.

VDOT calculates it needs $709 million to maintain state highway pavement next year, but it only has $318.2 million for their upkeep in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Rural areas are bearing the brunt of deteriorating roads, as scarce state dollars are diverted to match federal funds for work on the state's most heavily traveled arteries, which largely serve major urban regions.

Virginia's secondary and primary highways will not meet even the state's minimum standards for acceptable pavement conditions with the money available. Even with an increasing share of Virginia's transportation money being spent on maintenance, the 57,867-mile state-maintained road system will fall short of VDOT's targets for limiting deficient pavements. VDOT wants to hold deficient pavement to 18 percent of interstate highways and primary roads, and merely stop the condition of secondary roads from deteriorating.

View the Chief Financial Officer's presentation on the 6-YIP and the Budget.

View the Chief of Operations presentation on maintenance spending.