Highways, Bridges and Ferries Passed HB126 Charles Hardaway Marks Bridges. Designates the Virginia Route 10 twin bridges near Hopewell the "Charles Hardaway Marks Bridges." Patron - Ingram HB130 HOV lanes. Allows transit and commuter buses, buses and motor coaches operating under irregular route passenger certificates, and any vehicle operating under certificates of public convenience and necessity or as common carriers of passengers to use HOV lanes, regardless of the number of their occupants. Patron - Howell HB273 Subdivision street maintenance. Provides that, for streets whose plans are submitted on or after July 1, 1998, where local street pavement widths standards for certain streets are different from VDOT standards and those local standards cause VDOT increased maintenance costs, the amount of the increase will be paid to VDOT by the locality. Patron - Tate HB457 Subdivision streets. Changes from July 1, 1985, to July 1, 1988, the date by which subdivision streets had to be open to the public in order to be eligible to be taken into the state secondary system. This bill is a duplicate of SB 26. Patron - Marshall HB603 Unauthorized signs in highway rights-of-way. Authorizes the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner to enter into agreements with Spotsylvania County to have county law-enforcement agencies or other governmental entities enforce statutes relating to placing signs in highway rights-of-way without a permit. Some signs are exempted. Penalties and costs collected for violations would be divided evenly between the locality and the Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund. The bill has a July 1, 2000, sunset. Patron - Orrock HB676 Highway construction by counties. Adds Hanover County and Roanoke County to the list of counties authorized to use general county revenues for highway improvements. Patron - Hargrove HB693 Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway. Designates Interstate Route 264 and Virginia Route 44 in the Cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach the "Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway." The word "designation" is missing from the end of the second sentence of the bill. A suggested amendment is attached to remedy this defect. Patron - Wardrup HB706 Toll facilities. Allows animal wardens and officers and employees of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries free use of toll facilities. Patron - May HB734 George Ward Dalton Bridge. Designates the U. S. Route 23 bridge at Harvey's Crossing in Lee County the George Ward Dalton Bridge. Patron - Kilgore HB785 Sale of certain property acquired by power of eminent domain. Requires that when certain property, acquired by the VDOT Commissioner for use in connection with a transportation project, is sold, it must be offered first for re-purchase at fair market value by its previous owner. Patron - Phillips HB826 Purple Heart Trail. Amends the 1996 designation of the Purple Heart Trail to include I-64 from I-95 to Norfolk and routes connecting I-95 to Mount Vernon. Patron - Cox HB925 Transportation; highway and transportation rights-of-way. Permits the lease, sale or exchange of highway rights-of-way for transportation or development purposes to a public college or university foundation and exempts such projects from the capital appropriations process. Patron - Cranwell HB958 State aid to mass transit. Allows all localities to use their local share of highway funds to support mass transit operating costs and increases the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund's share of the Transportation Trust Fund from 8.4 percent to 14.5 percent in fiscal year 1998-1999 and 14.7 percent thereafter. Patron - Robinson HB1048 T. George Vaughan, Jr., Memorial Highway. Designates US Route 58 between Hillsville and Galax the "T. George Vaughan, Jr., Memorial Highway." This bill is identical to SB 1. Patron - Jackson HB1112 Highway improvements by counties. Allows any county (instead of only Arlington, Chesterfield, Culpeper, Fairfax, Frederick, Henrico, James City, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford County, and York) to undertake activities towards the design, land acquisition, or construction of primary or secondary highway projects in the primary or secondary system and adds Albemarle, Augusta, and Rockingham to the list of counties that may use county general revenue for transportation projects. Patron - Bryant HB1136 "Harold L. Ringley Bridge" and "Frank Clay Bridge." Designates the two US Alternate Route 58 bridges in the Town of Coeburn the "Harold L. Ringley Bridge" and the "Frank Clay Bridge." Patron - Phillips HB1228 Pruning certain vegetation within highway rights-of-way. Establishes a system for permitting trimming of vegetation growing within highway rights-of-way when that vegetation obscures motorists' view of certain lawful advertising. Patron - Tate HB1240 Use of motor vehicles by state employees. Requires approval by the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner for contract rental of motor vehicles for use by state employees and officers for official business. Patron - Cantor HB1286 City street maintenance payments. Authorizes street maintenance payments for streets in housing developments in Richmond City that are closed to public traffic for public safety reasons. Patron - Jones, D.C. HB1427 Frederick T. Gray Bridge. Designates the I-295 bridge across the Appomattox River the "Frederick T. Gray Bridge." Patron - Ingram SB1 T. George Vaughan, Jr., Memorial Highway. Designates U.S. Route 58 between Hillsville and Galax the "T. George Vaughan, Jr., Memorial Highway." This bill is identical to House Bill 1048. Patron - Marye SB26 Subdivision streets. Changes from July 1, 1985, to July 1, 1988, the date by which subdivision streets must have been open to the public in order to be brought up to standards for being taken into the state secondary system. There is a technical amendment. This bill is a duplicate of HB 457. Patron - Reasor SB231 Highway construction by counties. Adds Augusta, Hanover, and Rockingham Counties to the list of counties authorized to use general county revenues for highway improvements. Patron - Bolling SB302 Freya Dalton Bridges. Designates the US 460 bridges across Virginia Route 67 at Richlands the "Freya Dalton Bridges" and the U.S. Route 33 bridges over Interstate Route 64 in New Kent County the "Farrar and Jeanette Howard Bridges." Patron - Reasor SB514 Relocation of utilities. Provides for inclusion of costs of relocating natural gas facilities in project costs of certain highway projects. Patron - Watkins SB562 State aid to mass transit. Allows all localities to use their local share of highway funds to support mass transit operating costs and increases the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund's share of the Transportation Trust Fund from 8.4 percent to 14.5 percent in fiscal year 1998-1999 and 14.7 percent thereafter. Patron - Walker SB686 Pruning certain vegetation within highway rights-of-way. Establishes a system for permitting trimming of vegetation growing within highway rights-of-way when that vegetation obscures motorists' view of certain lawful advertising. Patron - Reasor Failed HB646 Subdivision street maintenance. Provides that, beginning January 1, 1998, where local street construction standards for certain streets are different from VDOT standards and those local standards cause VDOT increased maintenance costs, the amount of the increase will be paid to VDOT by the locality. Patron - McClure HB747 HOV lanes. Allows vehicles bearing firefighter license plates to use HOV lanes within Planning District Eight (Northern Virginia), regardless of the number of vehicle passengers. Patron - Marshall HB955 Taking subdivision streets into secondary system. Limits applicable definition of "speculative interest" to undeveloped parcels of land that can be developed under applicable local building and zoning ordinances. Patron - Armstrong HB1137 Planning of highway construction projects. Requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board to notify the governing body of all counties, cities, and towns through which a highway will or may pass whenever planning for a highway construction project begins. Patron - Phillips HB1166 Pruning certain vegetation within highway rights-of-way. Establishes a system for permitting trimming of vegetation growing within highway rights-of-way when that vegetation obscures motorists' view of certain lawful advertising. Patron - Ruff HB1208 Highway beautification. Prohibits the construction of new billboards on or after July 1, 1998. The trimming or cutting on highway rights of way of vegetation blocking motorists' view of billboards is prohibited except when performed by the Department of Transportation because the vegetation is diseased or damaged and presents a danger to other vegetation or to human health. The Commissioner of Transportation is also to revise the fee structure for billboards so that the full cost of administering the program will be covered by the fees. Patron - Murphy HB1322 Highway corridor studies by VDOT. Prohibits highway corridor studies by VDOT unless the existence of a demonstrated need for the highway is affirmed by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Patron - Marshall SB137 Highway construction and maintenance by state employees. Increases from $300,000 to $750,000 the cap on highway maintenance and construction projects that may be carried out by the Commonwealth Transportation Board using state employees. Patron - Reynolds SB287 Taking subdivision streets into secondary system. Limits applicable definition of "speculative interest" to undeveloped parcels of land that can be developed under applicable local building and zoning ordinances. Patron - Reynolds SB581 Highway beautification. Prohibits the construction of new billboards on or after July 1, 1998. The trimming or cutting on highway rights-of-way of vegetation blocking motorists' view of billboards is prohibited except when performed by the Department of Transportation because the vegetation is diseased or damaged and presents a danger to other vegetation or to human health. The Commissioner of Transportation is also to revise the fee structure for billboards so that the full cost of administering the program will be covered by the fees. Patron - Whipple Carried Over HB708 Tolls for motorcycles. Prohibits charging motorcycles higher tolls if they have sidecars or are towing trailers or both. This would not apply to facilities whose bond indentures provide otherwise. Patron - Davis HB823 Chesapeake Bay Byway Program. Establishes the U.S. Route 3, Chesapeake Bay Byway Program as a special transportation program for the Northern Neck area along Route 3 between Route 301 and Route 14. The Program is to provide for the costs of adequate, modern, safe, and efficient transportation in the designated area. The Program is to be funded by a special nonreverting fund that will be part of the Transportation Trust Fund. The special fund is to receive $10 million annually from state recordation taxes. Patron - Murphy HB833 Highway signs; deaths attributable to drunk driving. Requires VDOT to develop design and installation criteria for signs to mark locations of highway deaths attributable to drunk driving. All sign costs are to be borne by persons requesting installation of the signs. Patron - Cantor HB1160 Highway construction allocations. Changes the formula for allocating primary system highway construction funds among the construction districts to vehicle-miles traveled weighted 65 percent; primary road lane mileage weighted 20 percent; density of use weighted 10 percent; and need weighted five percent, provided that no district receives an allocation less than it received in fiscal year 1996-97. Patron - McClure HB1210 Unpaved secondary road fund. Increases from 50 vehicles per day to 100 vehicles per day the minimum amount of traffic a road must carry in order to be eligible for paving from the unpaved secondary road fund. Patron - Joannou HB1211 Location of routes by Commonwealth Transportation Board. Replaces present procedures and requirements for locating routes. The new procedures and requirements (i) apply only to projects whose total budgets exceed $1,000,000; (ii) provide for advance notice to persons who request such notification and to circuit courts and local governing bodies of localities through which the route passes; (iii) provide for public hearings prior to locations of routes and advance notice of such hearings; (iv) provide for hearings before the full Board when requested by an affected governing body or 50 or more freeholders in an affected locality; (v) require the Board to designate only those routes that will provide demonstrable public benefits exceeding their combined financial, social, and environmental costs; (vi) require the Board actively to consult and cooperate with affected local governing bodies; (vii) require the Board, within three years, to designate or formally reject a route that has been publicly announced by VDOT or the Board; (viii) require prompt and diligent pursuit of rights-of-way that have not been acquired within three years and require reconveyance of any property that had been acquired; and (ix) provide for enforcement through injunctions or writs of mandamus. Patron - Darner SB131 Emergency vehicle egress warning lights. Requires VDOT to install, at the request of the local governing body, signal lights warning of the egress of emergency vehicles onto state primary and secondary highways. Such installations are to be subject to Department requirements as to sight distances and traffic volumes and approval by the Department's resident engineer. Patron - Reynolds SB460 HOV lanes. Authorizes the Commonwealth Transportation Board to permit the use of HOV lanes by otherwise unqualified vehicles through a system of user fees. Patron - Barry SB485 Airport access roads. Allows licensed public-use airports to contract with the Commonwealth Transportation Board for construction of airport access roads on airport property. Patron - Barry SB529 Breaks in access control line of limited access highways. Requires that when the Commonwealth Transportation Board approves a break in the access control line of a limited access highway, the owner of abutting property who requested the break must pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the compensation paid when his access rights to the highway were extinguished, with interest at the legal rate from the date of the original payment, and the costs of any necessary safety or operations improvements. Patron - Marye SB531 Allocation of highway funds. Requires that 75 percent of all funds available for highway purposes be allocated for highway maintenance and maintenance payments to cities, towns, and Arlington and Henrico Counties. Patron - Marye SB532 Allocation of highway construction funds. Prohibits allocation of funds for new construction in the interstate, primary, urban, and secondary highway systems unless adequate funds have been allocated to complete all construction projects already under way. Patron - Marye SB628 Western Transportation Corridor. Places a moratorium on all VDOT actions related to the Western Transportation Corridor. The moratorium is to remain in effect until repealed by the General Assembly. Patron - Gartlan < PREVIOUS | CONTENTS | NEXT >