A history of roads in Virginia: Milestones and new financial formulas

The second Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, shown here under construction, was completed in 1976.

By 1975, revenue and cost trends stabilized sufficiently to permit resumption of a regularly scheduled highway construction program, with 172 projects totaling nearly 137 miles and $191.5 million placed under contract.

A milestone in Virginia transportation occurred on June 3, 1976, when tolls were removed from three Tidewater bridges and the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. It was also on that day that the second Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, running parallel to the first, was opened. Though it had been a long time coming, many hailed the removal of the tolls and the opening of a second Hampton-Norfolk connector as the most important factor in Tidewater’s development.

In 1977, Virginia’s laws governing the allocation of state highway revenue were rewritten and greatly simplified by the General Assembly.

Over the years, the allocation formulas had become steadily more complex as additional programs were initiated and as new or increased sources of revenue were provided. One result was that an important premise — that citizens ought to be able to understand what government is doing, and why — was jeopardized where the spending of highway funds was concerned.

Recognizing that the public’s investment in highway facilities must be guarded, the legislation mandated that state funds be allocated first for the maintenance of all existing systems before any distribution for construction or other purposes.

Fifty percent of the construction funds was allocated for the primary system, 25 percent for the secondary system, and 25 percent for the urban system.

The new legislation reflected the growing influence of the state’s urban areas by simplifying the methods of distributing the funds within each system and making allocations to predominantly rural and predominantly urban districts more equitable.

The General Assembly action also reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent the municipalities’ share of urban construction costs.

Produced by the
Virginia Department of Transportation
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1401 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
VirginiaDOT.org