Since the conclusion of the nineteen hundred seventy-seven General Assembly Session, the House Roads and Internal Navigation Committee has examined several subjects within its purview. Subcommittees carried out studies regarding the implementation of new highway revenue allocation formulas (H. B. 1041, 1977), matters pertinent to railroad crossings, and the transportation needs of Northern Virginia.

The Subcommittee Studying House Bill No. 1041 reviewed the method of highway fund allocations used by the Department of Highways and Transportation under the previous State law and compared those figures with allocations made as of July 1, 1977 under House Bill No. 1041. The Subcommittee also examined special road improvement needs in Southwest Virginia. The Committee chairman, Lewis A. McMurran, Jr., appointed the following members to serve on this Subcommittee: Lewis A. McMurran, Jr., Chairman, Orby L. Cantrell, Donald G. Pendleton, Garry G. DeBruhl, L. Cleaves Manning, V. Earl Dickenson, Robert B. Ball, Sr., Mary A. Marshall and Charles W. Gunn.

House Resolution No. 36 of the 1977 Session requested the Committee to study the number of railroad crossings at grade in the Commonwealth, decide which crossings are necessary and how better procedures could be developed to eliminate crossings that are rarely used or not in the public interest. Mr. McMurran appointed the following members to conduct this study: William P. Robinson, Sr., Chairman, Richard L. Saslaw, George N. McMath, Raymond R. Robrecht, and Eva F. Scott.

House Joint Resolution 245 requested the Committee evaluate the transportation needs of Northern Virginia. The Committee was charged with reviewing the 1976 preliminary recommendations of the Governor's Council on Transportation and determining how best the transportation needs of Northern Virginia could be addressed. Mr. McMurran appointed the following Committee members to carry out this study: Donald A. McGlothlin, Sr., Chairman; Mary A. Marshall, William T. Parker, Robert E. Washington, Earl E. Bell, Raymond R. Guest, Jr., and Robert E. Harris.