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Identifying Virginia's Needs for the Next 10-15 Years

Connecting current trends to future action—one need at a time.

Mid-term Needs and Priorities

Transportation needs for the next 10 years are called “mid-term needs.” VTrans identifies and prioritizes these needs and then addresses them with projects, policies, and programs.
Projects that help address these needs may become eligible for state funding under the SMART SCALE program. They may also receive priority consideration in VDOT’s Revenue Sharing program.
Locations VTrans rank as "Priority 1" (top priority) become eligible for study funding under the Project Pipeline program.
On This Page
Mid-term Needs Policy and Guide

The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has established policies to identify and prioritize capacity and safety-related transportation needs. These policies use performance-based planning to provide transparency and clarity to local and regional partners. Changing these policies requires CTB action.

For more information, use these resources:

  • The VTrans Policy Guide (v6) provides a framework and details for all VTrans related policies. Chapter 4 of the policy guide focuses on the identification of VTrans Mid-term Needs and Chapter 5 includes the prioritization of the VTrans Mid-term Needs.
  • The 2021 Technical Guide for the Identification and Prioritization of the Mid-term Needs documents data sources, methods, and processes for planners and engineers. The outdated 2019 version of the Technical Guide can be found here.

The Technical Guide may continue to evolve and improve with advances in technology, data collection, and reporting tools. If such improvements modify or affect the policy and process, they are brought to the CTB for review and approval.

VTrans Policy Guide v6 coverDownload
VTrans Technical Guide 2021 coverDownload
How are Mid-term Needs Identified and Prioritized?
Identification

VTrans identifies mid-term needs to advance the goals and objectives established by the CTB over the next 10 years. For each goal, one or more performance measures are identified. These are numeric descriptions of a transportation system’s performance or condition. Stakeholders are consulted before any changes are made to policy to identify and prioritize needs.

Prioritization

After the needs are identified, they are prioritized so locations with more pressing needs can be focused on. Locations with overlapping needs can be prioritized together for efficiency.

Needs are prioritized with this four-step process
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The first step is creating guidelines for grouping needs by category.

This is done by location:

Statewide Prioritization: Needs¹ within the Corridors of Statewide Significance (CoSS) and Safety Travel Markets²

Construction District Prioritization: Needs¹ within the Corridors of Statewide Significance (CoSS), Regional Networks (RN), Safety, and UDA (IEDA Access) Travel Markets²

Notes

  1. Needs categories vary by Travel Market and include a wide range of multimodal needs such as congestion, transit access, pedestrian access, etc.
  2. There are four (4) Travel Markets, each with a unique set of characteristics. Please refer to the VTrans Travel Markets page for a more detailed description.

Establish priorities within each category.

This step uses two criteria:

Criteria 1: Severity of the Need

Criteria 2: Magnitude (Number of Users, Vehicles, etc. Affected)

Take categories from Step 2 and weigh them numerically. Combine them to set Statewide and Construction District Priority Locations.

Adjust for influencing factors.

These influencing factors help set priority:

  • Co-located transportation infrastructure repair, rehabilitation, or replacement needs
  • Exposure to the projected sea-level rise, storm surge, and historical riverine/inland flooding
  • Co-located Economically Distressed Communities
For more detailed info, check out the VTrans Policy Guide and the 2021 Technical Guide for the Identification and Prioritization of the Mid-term Needs.
Established VTrans Mid-term Needs and Priorities

VTrans mid-term needs and priority locations can be viewed using the map widget below. Please use InteractVTrans MapExplorer to print, download, or comment. Explore more statistics with the interactive visualization app InteractVTrans DataExplorer.

To query, print, download, or comment, visit InteractVTrans MapExplorer (2023 VTrans Mid-term Needs, 2019 VTrans Prioritized Mid-term Needs). For interactive infographics, visit InteractVTrans DataExplorer.
More About Needs
  • A proposed solution to address a VTrans mid-term need does not have to be located in the same place as the need. A solution must only address the purpose in need and effectiveness.
  • A VTrans need category does not specify a type or mode of response. For example, a solution to the need for Improved Reliability may not focus on roadways. It could instead be addressed by multimodal infrastructure improvements such as transit or rail services or park-and-ride infrastructure.
  • Similarly, a need for improved reliability may also be addressed by policies (e.g., variable pricing, occupancy or vehicle restrictions, etc.) or programs such as commuter assistance programs.
Frequently Asked Questions

Have more VTrans questions? Find answers on our FAQ page.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) established a policy to identify capacity and safety related transportation needs in January 2020 and established a policy to prioritize these needs in March 2021. These policies rely on performance-based planning to bring transparency and provide clarity to local and regional partners. The VTrans Mid-term Needs framework assesses the state’s transportation needs at three scales, or travel markets, listed below, and includes a statewide assessment of Safety Needs:

  • Corridor of Statewide Significance (CoSS): Interregional travel market
  • Regional Networks (RNs): Intraregional travel market
  • Urban Development Areas (UDAs) and Industrial and Economic Development Sites (IEDAs): local travel market

For more complete information, see the Mid-term Needs and Priorities page.

You can view, query, and download the 2021 and 2019 VTrans Mid-term Needs and 2019 Statewide and Construction District Prioritized Mid-term Needs on InteractVTrans MapExplorer.

VTrans Mid-term Needs identify locations that may require attention over the next ten years.

Measures used to identify VTrans Mid-term Needs are based on the CTB adopted policy for the identification and prioritization of the VTrans Mid-Term Needs. The policy was developed in close coordination with localities, MPOs, PDCs and the CTB members. More information can be found on the Mid-Term Needs and Priorities page.

Per Board policy, the identification of VTrans Mid-term Needs relies on several performance measures developed to quantify congestion, reliability, accessibility, safety, capacity preservation, and transportation demand management needs:

  • Congestion: Identifies locations where speed is significantly slower than the posted speed limit or travel time is longer than normal traffic conditions.
  • Reliability: Pinpoints locations with high variability in travel time or locations that require extra travel time built in to ensure on-time arrival and includes average on-time station arrival of Amtrak and Virginia Rail Expressway passenger trains.
  • Accessibility: Identifies areas where improved modal accessibility is needed, including regional Activity Centers where transit access is not competitive to automobile access and Equity Emphasis Areas where transit access is needed, as well as areas where bicycle and pedestrian access is needed.
  • Safety: Identifies roadway segments and intersections with higher-than-normal crash instances, fatalities, and injuries, as well as corridors with pedestrian safety needs.
  • Urban Development Areas (UDAs): Identifies various locally identified needs for improving circulation within designated areas to help support traditional neighborhood design characteristics.
  • Capacity Preservation: Identifies roadways where low-cost investments now can minimize need for costly improvements later.
  • Transportation Demand Management (TDM): Identifies need for proactive management of demand for travel based on roadway and area type.
  • Industrial and Economic Development Areas (IEDAs): Identifies Needs for development sites qualifying for designation as an IEDA by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to access the nearest Corridor of Statewide Significance (CoSS).

For more information, visit the VTrans Mid-term Needs and Priorities page.

A performance measure is a numeric description of a condition. Performance measures are based on data, and tell a story about, for example, condition of a roadway segment or transit service. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has developed a policy to identify conditions, referred to as Thresholds, that merit attention over the next ten years. If roadway or transit service conditions do meet thresholds established by the CTB, they are flagged as Mid-term Needs that require attention over the next ten years.

Rural area needs that are outside of Regional Networks (RNs) have been identified through the Corridors of Statewide Significance (CoSS) and Urban Development Area (UDA) travel markets. More generally, Safety Needs can occur on any state road; they are not limited by travel market.

In addition to Mid-term Needs for the next ten years, VTrans identifies a Long-term Risk and Opportunity Register with a longer (20+ years) planning horizon. The Policy for the Development and Monitoring of the VTrans Long-term Risk & Opportunity Register identifies trends as external pressures that directly or indirectly impact Virginia's transportation system in the long-term (20+ years). This policy also directs the Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) to monitor these external factors and provide annual updates to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB).

There are simply too many transportation needs identified around the state to focus on at the same time. Prioritizing the needs helps to differentiate locations where the transportation needs are more pressing.

Priority locations identified based on the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) Policy for the Prioritization of the VTrans Mid-term Needs, become eligible for funding and further evaluation under the Virginia Project Pipeline program.

Finally, local and regional planning agencies may utilize the prioritized Needs to inform local and regional planning efforts.

The Virginia Project Pipeline Program relies on the prioritized VTrans Mid-term Needs to optimize the return on investments and ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient delivery of transportation programs, while also promoting performance based planning and programming per the CTB's VTrans Guiding Principles.

1. Prioritize VTrans Mid-term Needs

2. Identify locations for studies/solutions

3. Conduct studies / develop solutions

4. Inform VDOT and DRPT funding programs, including SMART SCALE.

Yes, the Policy for the Prioritization of the VTrans Mid-term Needs does impact the identified transportation needs.

For detailed information on the policy, including which Needs categories fall within which Priority Locations, please review the Chapter 5 of the VTrans Policy Guide available on this webpage.

The VTrans Mid-term Needs are categorized into two prioritization geographies: (1) Statewide Priority; and, (2) District Priority. The Statewide Priority locations are prioritized statewide (irrespective of the VDOT Construction District or region) and include the following Needs within the Corridors of Statewide Significance (CoSS) travel market:

  1. Congestion Mitigation
  2. Improved Reliability (Highway)
  3. Improved Reliability (Intercity and Commuter Rail)
  4. Capacity Preservation
  5. Travel Demand Management
  6. Safety Improvement (on CoSS)

For example, a Congestion Mitigation Need location along the “East-West” CoSS Corridor, on I-64 in Henrico County, would be compared against a Need location along the "Washington to North Carolina" CoSS Corridor, on I-95 in Stafford County.

The VTrans Mid-term Needs are categorized into two prioritization geographies: (1) Statewide Priority; and, (2) Construction District Priority. The District Priority locations are only compared within each of the Nine VDOT Construction Districts utilizing the following Need Categories:

  1. Congestion Mitigation (RN)
  2. Improved Reliability (RN)
  3. Transit Access for Equity Emphasis Areas (RN)
  4. Transit Access to Activity Centers (RN)
  5. Pedestrian Access to Activity Centers (RN)
  6. Bicycle Access to Activity Centers (RN)
  7. Capacity Preservation (RN)
  8. Transportation Demand Management (RN)
  9. Access to Industrial and Economic Development Areas (IEDAs)
  10. Roadway Safety (Statewide
  11. Pedestrian Safety (Statewide)

For example, a Regional Network (RN) Need location in the Winchester RN would be compared against a Need location in the Harrisonburg RN, since they are both in the Staunton Construction District, but that same Need location in the Winchester area would not be compared against a Need location in the Richmond RN, because Richmond is in a different Construction District.

The Policy for the Prioritization of the VTrans Mid-term Needs identifies Statewide Priority Location based on the needs along the Corridors of Statewide Significance Travel Market. Construction District Priority Locations include transportation needs within the following three travel markets: Regional Networks, Safety, and Industrial and Economic Development Area (IEDA) Needs. Please visit the VTrans Travel Markets webpage for more details.

Corridors of Statewide Significance (CoSS) are established as multimodal corridors composed of transportation facilities and services connecting major centers of activity and accommodating inter-city and inter-state travel. These corridors play a major role in supporting passenger and freight movements across Virginia and are therefore, given their importance, are prioritized at the statewide level rather than compared with local or regional conditions or Needs. Please note that Needs identified along CoSS, if applicable within Regional Networks, are also identified as Regional Network Needs and also get evaluated to establish Construction District Priority Locations.

The draft policy for the prioritization of VTrans Mid-term Needs was presented at 30+ briefings to Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Planning District Commissions (PDCs), at four Virtual Workshops attended by over 350 participants and at several on-on-one meetings with various agencies and jurisdictions. Through this outreach over 140 written comments were received, and three substantial modifications were made to the policy in response to comments received.

For more information, see the presentation from the January 19, 2021 CTB Meeting (link to slides) which details the recommended modifications. Also, see this document with all the comments received on the draft policy for the prioritization of VTrans Mid-term Needs.