A Commonwealth Transportation Board subcommittee seems to be making progress in deciding how to make Virginia’s formulas for allocating road maintenance dollars more equitable and efficient. In a meeting yesterday, the five-member group agreed upon the following statement:
The most equitable approach to distribution of scarce maintenance funding may be a formula that incorporates a prioritized needs-based factor along with a commitment to maintain statewide assets, regardless of maintenance responsibility.
State funding formulas are balkanized and inconsistent. One set of rules, based upon lane-miles of roadway, applies to cities and towns. Another set of rules applies to Arlington and Henrico Counties. And yet a third governs the distribution of maintenance funds to all other counties, whose roads are maintained by VDOT.
The subcommittee is moving toward a single set of criteria for dispensing maintenance dollars. However, the group resolved to gather more data on the condition of roads in cities, which VDOT currently does not collect, and to convene again with city and county stakeholders to hash out the issues. Inevitably, any change in the formulas will create winners and losers.
A consensus appeared to emerge, however, around the idea that maintenance dollars should be distributed according to the basis of need, with “need” being determined by a composite of factors such as the condition of the roads, the number of people who use the roads, and the economic value of the roads. Sheppard Miller, an urban at-large member from Hampton Roads, spoke of a mile-long road that he lives on and shares with only two or three other families. Regardless of its physical condition, his road just isn’t as important as a road that carries thousands of drivers. Maintenance on other roads should take precedence, he said. “I’d look at the needs across the state, serve the most critical needs first, and look at which roads have the most value.”
The subcommittee report received a positive response from other CTB members. Virginia should not be hamstrung by 80-year-old legislation, said Cord Sterling, the Fredericksburg district representative. “We need more resources. But we also need to more effectively manage the resources we have.”
— JAB