News and Views

Richmond Times-Dispatch : Aubrey Layne column: Virginia's roads and bridges being built on a better foundation

A reliable transportation system is essential to Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s mission to build the New Virginia Economy, bringing jobs and new business to the commonwealth.

Over the course of his administration, we have worked with the General Assembly to radically change, for the better, the delivery and funding of transportation projects.

These changes have resulted in the most significant improvements to major urban corridors in more than 30 years.

Along the urban crescent, from the Port of Virginia to I-64 through Hampton Roads and Richmond and up I-95 to the D.C. line, there will be more travel choices than ever before, including a multi-modal 90-mile express lanes system in Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia and numerous improvements to I-95 through Richmond.

And I-64 will have additional lanes in Hampton Roads, with a new tunnel at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and a new high-rise bridge in Chesapeake. In central Virginia, after decades of indecision, Route 29 through Charlottesville is being vastly improved because of an unprecedented collaborative effort with the community to get something done.

What’s more important than the projects is the foundation to deliver those projects. The foundation is built with good governance and sustainable policies. Result: taxpayer dollars,your money, is being invested in the right transportation projects.

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The foundation is comprised of seven building blocks that put the taxpayers first:

Dropping ideology and politics— Political wish-lists and automatic assumptions that P3 projects (public-private partnerships) are the ultimate solution have failed taxpayers. The root of all actions is the commonwealth’s fiduciary responsibility to the public. Good governance and policy drive the right transportation decisions, not politics.

Acting regionally— Localities are realizing they get more out of limited transportation dollars when they work together as a region. A prime example is Hampton Roads. The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission brings local governments together to fund critical transportation projects, such as I-64 widening, that are the most responsive to the needs of the region as a whole.

Investing in the right projects and building them to completion— In working with the General Assembly and the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), we revolutionized the way projects are selected and funded, through a new project-prioritization system called SMART SCALE.

Projects are scored based on an objective and data-driven system with key factors: safety, congestion-reduction, accessibility to jobs, land-use, economic development, and environmental improvements. Localities use this scoring system to submit their best projects for consideration to be funded, with the CTB having the final say.

So far the CTB voted to fully fund $1.7 billion worth of projects in the first wave and the board is reviewing another round of projects for funding. Once projects are in the program, they are fully funded to completion.

Revamping an outdated funding formula to fix existing infrastructure— Protecting the commonwealth’s valuable asset of more than 58,000 miles of roads and 21,000 bridges is a complex and big job. The funding formula is better realigned to pay for the most critical needs. This is called the State of Good Repair. Using an asset-management system, funds are distributed based on need to address key bridges and deteriorated pavement. More than $1 billion is allocated to the transportation program, which will improve the overall condition of Virginia’s existing infrastructure.

Reforming private-sector deals so taxpayers are protected— Virginia overhauled the way P3 contracts are negotiated and delivered to protect the best interests of the public. This wasn’t always done prior to the McAuliffe administration. Risk was not assessed adequately and politics drove the deals, leaving the state with poor negotiating power.

The reforms require the state to determine who can deliver the best deal for the public — the state or the private sector. The state determines business terms and a base cost estimate. Risk is evaluated from a taxpayer’s perspective. The reforms were put to the test with the I-66 Outside the Beltway contract in Northern Virginia. The private sector will finance the entire $2.5 billion express lanes project and pay the state $500 million at closing. This is a good deal, maximizing benefits and minimizing risk for the public.

Making decision-makers independent of political pressure— The CTB makes decisions on which projects get built — impacting Virginia’s economic competitiveness. Under new reforms, members may only be removed for cause, allowing them to make these tough decisions without undue political pressure. All CTB meetings are held in open session and live-streamed to enhance public involvement and transparency.

Ratifying reforms in law— The building blocks are bound together through laws, providing a sustainable foundation for future administrations to deliver the right transportation projects.

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Limited transportation dollars have consequences. Strengthening our foundation has prepared Virginia for the future of transportation. The state is gearing up for autonomous vehicles, maximizing technology to get the very most out of our infrastructure.

Virginia taxpayers can take comfort that our transportation evolution is based on a strong foundation built on proven business principles that protect public dollars.

Aubrey Layne is secretary of transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia and chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Contact him at Aubrey.Layne@ctb.virginia.gov.

Read the full story from Richmond Times-Dispatch. 
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