A history of roads in Virginia: Administrative belt-tightening

VDOT employees in the Negotiation Processing Center, Right of Way Division, prepare letters to landowners and attorneys.

In 1980, the General Assembly ordered the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to review the department’s operations and finances and recommend changes to make the best use of the resources available. Between July 1, 1978, and Nov. 1, 1981, employment in the department statewide was cut from 12,865 to 11,030, a reduction of more than 14 percent. The cutbacks were partly the result of the JLARC evaluation, which recommended reductions in manpower.

While most of the decline was accomplished by attrition, some employees were laid off from their jobs. The lower payroll costs cut approximately $15 million from the budget each year.

The employment decline reflected a determination to streamline the organization, but to a greater degree it was a reflection of the shrinking highway program.

Despite cutbacks in personnel and efforts to save money, the funding situation became increasingly severe, prompting the Department of Highways and Transportation to reassess the status and public use of substandard roads and bridges throughout the state.

Local governments were asked in 1981 to identify what they regarded as their most serious highway needs. The result of that request was the development of the SixYear Improvement Program for the highway system. The program was adopted on July 1, 1982, and it established a schedule of construction and reconstruction projects for the interstate, primary, and urban road systems in Virginia on a priority basis.

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