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Continuing the Journey

Reshaping the Transportation System

Pocahontas Parkway
The Pocahontas Parkway was VDOT's first PPTA project. VDOT signed its firstever, and the nation's third, concession agreement in 2006, transferring operations and maintenance responsibility to Transurban.

  • Successfully integrated public-private partnerships into our program:

    • Completed Virginia's first (and the nation's third) concession agreement, ceding operations and maintenance responsibility for the Pocahontas Parkway to Transurban. This saves taxpayers more than $240 million in future maintenance costs
    • Solicited PPTA proposals to relocate and expand capacity on Route 460 east of Petersburg. Three proposals are under review.
    • Signed an interim PPTA agreement with Fluor-Transurban to build the I-95/395 high-occupancy toll or 'HOT lanes' project that will use congestion pricing to pay for road expansion and to control congestion in the nation's third most congested region
    • The I-495 HOT lanes project, also being built in partnership with Fluor-Transurban and funded partially by the budget surplus, will add four variable-toll lanes along a 12-mile section. The environmental documentation is complete, and VDOT and Fluor-Transurban are working to complete the finance plan.
  • Delivered major projects on time and on budget to improve mobility throughout the Commonwealth. Major successes include:

    • Completed the first span of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge
    • Completed the first highway design-build project in Virginia, a new interchange to serve APM (Maersk) terminals in Portsmouth
    • In anticipation of Jamestown 2007, widened Route 199 to four lanes as a design-build project and finished 14 months ahead of schedule
    • Completed the first phase of the Virginia Capital Trail, Virginia's first stand-alone bike and walking trail project
    • Expanded Route 17 to four lanes through the environmentally sensitive Great Dismal Swamp. VDOT was nationally recognized for our environmental efforts on this project.

      • Recognized nationally by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for protecting wildlife and preserving the ecosystem
      • Designated as an Exemplary Ecosystem Initiative
  • Became one of the first state DOTs to establish a System Operations program that focuses on maximizing capacity of the existing highway network, increasing safety and using technology to address congestion along major travel corridors
  • Implemented 511 to provide a one-stop shop for motorists to get the latest realtime traffic and travel information. This service is available by calling 511 from any phone in Virginia or logging onto www.511Virginia.org
  • Outsourcing interstate maintenance by July 1, 2009, as directed by the Code of Virginia

    • 157 miles of interstate already outsourced
    • 668 miles scheduled to be advertised in FY07
    • 398 miles scheduled to be advertised in FY08
  • Implementing the Governor's initiative to align land use and transportation planning activities legislation through requiring localities to work with VDOT in considering the traffic impact of development projects (Chapter 527 regulations)
  • Pursuing a strategy offering to transfer maintenance and construction responsibilities to localities that wish to assume local control over transportation programs. These efforts include:

    • Executed an agreement that provides for the transfer of the Dulles Toll Road to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority after certain conditions are met
    • Transferred Suffolk secondary road maintenance to the city of Suffolk
    • Transferred Route 164 rail relocation project from Department of Rail and Public Transportation to Virginia Port Authority
    • Implemented transfer of construction responsibilities to eight localities in the First Cities initiative, representing 35 percent of state urban construction:

      • Harrisonburg, Bridgewater, Charlottesville, Hampton, Richmond, and Virginia Beach completed
      • Newport News and Lynchburg are under way
  • Established three Highway Safety Corridors on areas of interstate with high accident rates
  • Developed a new vision for I-81 that incorporates short-term safety improvements and rail upgrades, and identifies long-term highway needs


Page last modified: March 22, 2007