Transportation

"We must move forward with our efforts to build a transportation system for the 21st century.  By adopting these commonsense proposals we can increase the amount of money that is available for transportation construction, make certain that our transportation dollars are spent efficiently, and get traffic moving again in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads."

Solving Our Transportation Challenges

Every region of Virginia faces its own unique transportation challenges.  In Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads the problem is congestion, which affects the quality of life of our citizens and threatens the economic viability of these critical regions of our state.  In other parts of Virginia the challenge may be improving traffic safety, patching potholes or paving gravel roads.  

For years our state leaders had tried to implement a comprehensive program to address Virginia’s transportation needs.  Unfortunately, their proposals always relied on higher statewide and regional taxes and they were consistently rejected by the General Assembly. 

In 2011, Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling proposed a bold and innovative transportation program called Getting Virginia Moving Again.  This plan proposed a series of initiatives including:

  • $4B in additional funding for highway construction, maintenance and mass transit;
  • Streamlining regulations to speed up the completion of key transportation projects;
  • Directing more resources to critical projects on a statewide basis;
  • Implementing new transportation technologies;
  • Improving efficiencies within the Department of Transportation;
  • Preventing the diversion of highway dollars to other government programs; and
  • Continuing the effort to link land use planning and transportation planning.

After years of failing to achieve consensus on a comprehensive transportation solution , this plan was approved by the General Assembly with broad, bipartisan support. 

For full details on the Getting Virginia Moving Again plan, click here.

Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling know that there is more that must be done to address Virginia’s transportation challenges on a long term basis, but they have accomplished what prior administrations failed to accomplish.  As a result, Virginia will make the most significant financial investment in roads and transit in 25 years, and we will do so without raising taxes.