Traffic Congestion:

Traffic congestion is a growing concern for residents throughout the Commonwealth. Inadequate roads cost Virginia drivers nearly $1,000 each per year - $4.7 billion statewide- in diminished safety, longer delays and increased vehicle wear (Source: The Road Information Program).

Additionally, vehicle travel in Virginia is expected to increase 30 percent by 2020, to 103 billion vehicle miles of travel, resulting in increased traffic congestion and longer commute times. In fact, Virginians wasted nearly 157,000,000 hours and 254,000,000 gallons of gas stuck in traffic in 2003 (Source: VTRANS 2025 Summary of the Final Report).

During the 2007 General Assembly session, Virginians for Better Transportation urges legislators to determine a long-term, dedicated transportation funding solution that will help alleviate congestion and traffic delays statewide before the growing number of drivers overwhelm our already crowded roadways.

Safety:

The severity of Virginia's transportation funding crisis should not be underestimated and one important aspect we need to recognize is the safety concerns associated with the condition of the state's current transportation system. From 2003 to 2004, an average of 930 people in Virginia were killed in motor vehicle accidents annually. Specifically, 362 people were killed each year in the Washington, D.C. area; 92 people were killed each year in Richmond; 57 people were killed each year in Roanoke; and 128 people were killed in the Hampton Roads area (Source: The Road Information Program).

Additionally, many of Virginia's emergency response teams are unable to assist the injured fast enough due to heavy congestion on the roadways. Helicopters are now becoming the preferred means of emergency transportation due to increasing traffic problems in Northern Virginia (Source: "Traffic Forces More Medical Flights: As Traffic Worsens, More Critically Injured Patients Transported by Helicopter," by Ari Cetron, November 9, 2006, The Connection Newspapers).

Without sustainable funding for new investments and maintenance to our roadways, the traffic and congestion will only get worse, increasing the chances of anyone of us becoming one of the statistics.

Last Significant Investment in Transportation:

Virginia's budget for new transportation construction and expansion projects is shrinking and the demands on the state's transportation system are increasing. The last significant infusion of new transportation funds was enacted January 1, 1987 when the Commonwealth raised the gas tax by 2.5 cents to its current 17.5 cent level, added one-half percent to the state sales tax and increased the motor vehicle sales and use tax by one percent.

Considering inflation since 1987, the motor fuels tax revenue's purchasing power has decreased by more than 40 percent. Meanwhile, during the past five years, highway construction costs have increased by more than 25 percent (Source: The Virginia Department of Transportation).

This loss of buying power has hit local roads hard. Funding for Virginia's primary, secondary and urban roads, which carry about 70 percent of traffic, has shrunk by nearly 30 percent since 1996 (Source: The Virginia Department of Transportation). An additional $408 million in local road funding would be needed this year just to give local governments the same purchasing power they had in 1996.

Additional information to keep in mind:

• Due to a lack of state funding, 70 percent of VDOT's construction programs must now be paid for with federal dollars. The national average is only 42 percent. Federally funded projects take longer to complete because of federal requirements.
  
  
• No funding is available to complete any of the 11 multimodal transportation networks identified in the state's long-range transportation plan (Source: VTRANS 2025).
  
  
• Due to a lack of new, long-term, sustainable funding, VDOT must take more than $400 million from its construction program to fund highway maintenance.
  
  
• Twenty-nine percent of Virginia's roadways are rated poor or mediocre (Source: The Road Information Program). VDOT needs more than $1 billion in additional revenue to simply meet current maintenance needs, let alone fund new construction projects.
  
  
• Funding for primary, secondary and urban roads - on which Virginians drive 70 percent of their total miles - has shrunk by nearly 30 percent during the past 10 years (Source: The Virginia Department of Transportation).
  
  
• Inadequate road conditions and congestion cost the average Virginia driver nearly $1,000 per year (Source: The Road Information Program).
  
  
• More than 3,000 of Virginia's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete (Source: The Road Information Program).
  
  
• VDOT must accept more than 200 miles a year of local roads into the state highway system each year, with no additional money to maintain them (Source: The Virginia Department of Transportation).
  
  
• During the 2007 General Assembly session, Virginians for Better Transportation urges our legislators to determine a long-term, sustainable transportation funding solution.