RD375 - Virginia Department of Transportation Richmond District Secondary Pavement Report


Executive Summary:
Pursuant to Item 445. E of Chapter 2 of the 2014 Acts of the Assembly (Special Session I) ("Item 445 E"), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was directed to report to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations, Senate Finance, and House and Senate Transportation Committees on the conditions of secondary pavements, and the expenditure of funds for secondary pavement maintenance in the Richmond District, by county, in fiscal year 2013 and to determine if there were significant disparities in condition of secondary roads among counties within Richmond District. If so found, VDOT was directed to adjust funding for FY 2015 and FY 2016 to reduce the disparities to a minimum.

For the purpose of this study, VDOT gathered and analyzed the secondary pavement condition data from the State of The Pavement Report by county within Richmond District. VDOT also reviewed the expenditure of maintenance funds within Richmond District for FY 2013. It was observed that there were some disparities in condition of secondary roads by county in terms of percent deficient pavements. It was also observed that Richmond District, for FY 2013, began allocating funds for the secondary paving program, in part, to address the deficiencies and to ensure that pavements in each locality received appropriate attention and that the limited resources that are available are utilized efficiently. Fiscal Year 2013 data reveals that expenditure of funds for pavement conditions by percentages was consistent with percentages of deficient pavements in each county. Further, for FY 2014 and 2015, allocations by the Richmond District for the secondary paving program have been based, for the most part, on the percentage of deficient pavements in each county. Thus, although there are some disparities between counties as to the percentage of deficient pavements, Richmond District has more recently been allocating funds for the secondary paving program, by county, based on the percentage of deficient pavements, in order to alleviate these disparities.

It is therefore concluded that VDOT does not need to further adjust FY 2015 allocations since the current methodology utilized by the Richmond District takes into account the relative deficiencies of secondary pavements by county within the District. As further condition data becomes available from recent condition inspections, FY 2016 allocations may be adjusted slightly to continue effecting the desirable trend. Finally, as required by Item 444 E, VDOT will be providing an update to this report to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations, Senate Finance, and House and Senate Transportation Committees on or before October 15, 2015.