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2017 SESSION

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17105019D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1804 AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE (Proposed by the House Committee on Transportation on February 2, 2017) (Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Bell, John J.) A BILL to amend and reenact § 33.2-261 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the use of practical design standards for projects.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 33.2-261 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 33.2-261. Value engineering required in certain projects.

The Department shall employ value engineering and practical design methods in conjunction with any project on any highway system using criteria established by the Department, including all projects costing more than $5 million. For the purposes of this section, "value engineering" means a systematic process of review and analysis of an engineering project by a team of persons not originally involved in the project, and "practical design methods" means practices that are designed to achieve more focused transportation improvements at lower costs by taking into consideration existing conditions and designing only those essential improvements that meet the project's purpose and need. Such team may offer suggestions that would improve project quality and reduce total project cost, ranging from a combination or elimination of inefficient or expensive parts or steps in the original proposal to total redesign of the project using different technologies, materials, or methods. Such practical design standards may (i) focus on improvements that meet but do not seek to exceed the project's initial objective; (ii) encourage flexibility to meet a project's objective; (iii) seek cost savings; and (iv) allow for the reuse of existing infrastructure when feasible.

After a review, the Commissioner of Highways may waive the requirements of this section for any project for compelling reasons. Any such waiver shall be in writing, state the reasons for the waiver, and apply only to a single project.