VBT engages with and educates the public on issues surrounding transportation funding.
Virginians for Better Transportation (VBT) is the public education and outreach program of the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance (VTCA). VTCA is the only state association exclusively dedicated to serving the transportation construction industry. With the latest information and news, VBT advocates for continued support of long-term transportation funding to ensure Virginia's transportation needs are met.
VBT educates the public that an investment in transportation is an investment in economic development, safety, and our quality of life.
VBT allows us to engage with the public on topics that are relevant to them, including funding, policy, and transportation construction projects.
The design, construction, and maintenance of transportation infrastructure in Virginia supports about 112,000 full-time jobs across all sectors of the Commonwealth’s economy!
Transportation investment is boosting Virginia’s economy, enhancing economic growth, adding jobs, improving access, boosting safety and reducing travel delays.
Virginia motorists travel 76.1 billion miles annually, according to TRIP, a transportation research nonprofit that analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, AAA, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Travel on our roads has increased by 14 percent since 2000 as the population rises.
More than $535 billion of commodities ship to and from Virginia each year using our roads and highways. Our roads are some of the most critical in the global economy.
Maintaining that system requires significant investment, and today, that need is outpacing the state and national funding available to the Commonwealth. About a third of Virginia’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, according to a 2022 TRIP report.
Investing in Virginia’s transportation system improves road and bridge conditions and reduces driver costs. Driving on deteriorated roads costs Virginia motorists $9.5 billion a year – more than $1,500 per driver – in the form of repairs, accelerated vehicle depreciation, and increased fuel consumption and tire wear, according to TRIP’s 2020 Transportation by the Numbers report.
Nearly half of our bridges are at least 50 years old, an age when many bridges require significant rehabilitation or replacement. More than 600 of our bridges are rated as poor.
Congestions is costing us, too. Lost time and wasted fuel costs us $4.6 billion every year, according to TRIP. Throughout Virginia, we’re looking to add passing lanes, widen lanes, add medians, and add turns – all enhancements that will reduce congestion.
Roadway improvements can reduce traffic crashes and save lives. Virginia traffic fatalities skyrocketed by 14 percent from 2019 to 2021, according to TRIP. A 2017 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report found that every $100 million spent on needed roadway safety improvements would reduce the number of traffic fatalities by 44 and serious traffic injuries by 760 over a 20-year period.
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), will provide $8.89 billion in state funds for highway, bridge, and transit investments in Virginia over the next five years, including a 32% funding increase in fiscal year 2022. IIJA investment in Virginia’s roads and transit system will add an additional $1.89 billion in state GDP each year.
The increased economic activity will benefit Virginia residents – increasing disposable income by $715 million each year – an average of $207 per household.
Then in 2022, we continued our effort to educate the public about the importance of the gas tax as some lawmakers pushed to reduce and even eliminate the gas tax. The measure failed after hundreds of Virginia citizens messaged their lawmakers about how important the gas tax is to our transportation system and the Commonwealth’s future.