Virginia was just named Best Performing Road System.
A road system does not earn that moniker without some community input, so the Commonwealth Transportation Board held a Staunton District meeting last Wednesday.
“We’re certainly proud of all of the folks who have done all of the work that has brought us here,” Virginia Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller III said of staff and employees.
Virginia was blessed with money to make transportation improvements that it had never had before, but funds are never enough, Miller said, because more need always exists. A lot is going on in the Commonwealth, especially with widening and improvements to Interstate 81 in the Valley, however CTB’s priorities remain the same.
“Safety continues to be an issue,” Miller said. “It’s at the top of the list of things we’re concerned about in transportation.” He added that if motorists are unsafe on the road, how long it takes to travel on Virginia’s roads does not matter if they do not get home alive. Last year, 1,000 were killed on Virginia roads, and the number of fatalities have been increasing across the U.S. “We have got to find a way to do better.”
Miller said he knows the problem is not engineering of Virginia’s roads, but driver behavior. He picked up his personal cell phone and said “Put it down.”
“Get hands free. Put it down, put it away, do something, do not look it at while you’re driving, because, if you kill somebody, you’ll never forgive yourself.”
Safety in the Commonwealth is compromised by factors that are easily preventable: motorists not wearing seat belts, not paying attention and speeding.
“Guess what happens? People die,” Miller said.
Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen C. Brich said the program has grown. Smart Scale began in 2017 when the 6-year plan was valued at $10.6 billion for 3,200 projects. Today, the value is $20.1 billion for 4,700 projects across the Commonwealth.
“It’s a very exciting time to be in transportation here in the Commonwealth,” Brich said.
Brich said that 394 projects valued at $8.3 billion were submitted to the CTB, but 152 were approved totaling $1.5 billion in funding.
“Tonight’s purpose again is to solicit your feedback,” Brich said of the proposed projects.
Transportation faces challenges this year including high inflation, high cost of fuel, labor shortages and supply chain issues, but safety will always be a priority in the Commonwealth. VDOT partners with local and regional entities to make projects a reality.
The Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation was created 30 years with legislation. Jennifer DeBruhl, who became director in March 2022, said that $6.5 billion is budgeted for transit and rail in the 6-year plan. Transit will be allocated $5 billion and rail $1.5 billion.
In Staunton, organizations like the Brite bus will receive funding totaling $23 million.
“We see more engagement with our freight rail programs here in Staunton than we do with any other part of the state,” DeBruhl said.
Mark H. Merrill of VDOT’s Staunton District said transportation is a complex endeavor.
“Transportation is very important to Virginia both in the quality of life and the economic prosperity of the Commonwealth and its citizens,” he said. Forty applications were submitted in the district for projects, but 15 recommended totaling $96 million and decisions will be made final at CTB’s June 2023 meeting.
Randall Laird of VDOT’s Staunton District provided an update on I-81 improvements. Through 2033, $2.7 billion will be spent on projects for the 600 lane miles of the interstate (300 miles eastbound, 300 miles westbound). The city of Staunton District contains 150 miles.
“So a $2.7 billion project is a significant investment for the Staunton District for the betterment of this community for the betterment of all the communities along 81,” Laird said.
But the investment will benefit everyone who travels on I-81.
According to VDOT Staunton District Engineer Todd Stevens, the transportation district is comprised of 11 counties, 7 cities and 28 towns containing 360,000 residents and employing 700 VDOT staff. He encourages motorists to pay attention on roadways.
“You’re going to be seeing a lot of work zones,” Stevens said of improvements to I-81 in the Staunton District. “My goal is for everyone — to go home every day.” That includes VDOT employees, contractors, motorists and passengers.
The reality is that the unthinkable can happen. Miller said he attended VDOT’s Work Zone Safety Week ceremony on Interstate 64 at the VDOT memorial on April 19. Two days later he received a text message that someone was killed on I-81 in a work zone.
“We just have to do better,” Miller said.
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Rebecca Barnabi
