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2011 SESSION

11103501D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1998
House Amendments in [ ] – January 28, 2011
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 33.1-13.03, relating to evaluation of transportation projects in the Northern Virginia Transportation District; reports.
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Patron Prior to Engrossment--Delegate LeMunyon
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Referred to Committee on Transportation
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 33.1-13.03 as follows:

§ 33.1-13.03. Responsibilities of Virginia Department of Transportation for long-range transportation planning.

In establishing the policies and priorities for the Northern Virginia Transportation District, the Virginia Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board, shall evaluate all significant transportation projects in and near the Northern Virginia Transportation District, including both highway and mass transit projects, and provide an objective, quantitative rating for each project according to (i) the total amount of reduction in traffic congestion regionally and, separately, (ii) the amount of reduction in traffic congestion expected to be achieved per dollar cost of the project. Such evaluation shall rely on transportation modeling that employs computer simulations using methods currently and customarily employed in transportation modeling. The Virginia Department of Transportation may rely on the results of transportation modeling performed by other entities, including the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, or private entities contracted for this purpose by the Authority, provided that the modeling is in accordance with this section. The Virginia Department of Transportation shall publicize the quantitative ratings determined for each project on its website and update such findings at least every [ three five ] years, with the first report to be made no later than January 1, 2012. Each such report shall also contain two lists with at least five of the best-rated projects on each list that should be completed to:

1. Reduce congestion as quickly as possible during typically congested periods, which shall be known as the Northern Virginia Congestion Reduction List; and

2. Maximize regional mobility and minimize the loss of life in the event of a homeland security emergency in the national capital area in plausible scenarios determined in consultation with the Office of Commonwealth Preparedness, which shall be known as the Homeland Security Risk Reduction List.

Such lists need not be mutually exclusive.

For purposes of this section, the significant transportation projects to be evaluated shall comprise at least 25 such projects, without regard to funding source, and include but not be limited to:

a. Projects included in the version of the financially constrained long-range plan in effect when the evaluation is made, plus additional projects in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's TransAction 2030 Plan and subsequent updates; and

b. Other highway, rail, and bus projects that could make a significant impact on mobility in the region, to include additional Potomac River crossings west and south of Washington, D.C., extension of the Metro Orange Line, bus rapid transit on Interstate Route 66, the planned Metro Silver Line to Loudoun County, the Northern Virginia Transportation District Program of subsection A of § 33.1-221.1:3, and relevant portions of the local and statewide six-year plans pursuant to § 33.1-23.03.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority shall report annually on the (i) allocation and expenditure of all moneys deposited to the Special Fund Account of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority pursuant to subsection D of § 58.1-604.5; (ii) use of these moneys to reduce traffic congestion in the counties and cities described in subsections A and B of § 58.1-604.5; and (iii) use of these moneys to improve air quality in such counties and cities and in the Washington Metropolitan Area.