Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been given an additional US$55.5m in federal funding that was originally allocated to other states.
The other states did not have projects ready to use the funding and so the USA’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reallocated the money to Virginia and other states with projects that could use the money straightaway.
The bonus money will fund work to re-pave 400 lane miles of roadways across the state and improve 17 interstate bridges.
"Virginia aggressively pursues federal dollars for transportation, maximising all resources available, which leaves us in an excellent position to get more funding,” said governor Terry McAuliffe. “By carefully investing federal tax dollars to deliver road and bridge improvements and having projects ready to go, we have put our Commonwealth in a position to benefit from additional funds that would have gone to other states. My administration is committed to spending every single transportation dollar to ease congestion and help build a new Virginia economy.”
Transportation secretary Aubrey Layne added, “The federal bonus money is the result of VDOT managing its programme efficiently and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Federal funds are allocated and used to build infrastructure, with more projects in the pipeline ready to receive additional federal money.”
Each autumn, the FHWA reviews all states' ability to commit allocated highway dollars as the federal fiscal year ends. States that cannot use the funding must return that spending authority to the FHWA. The funds are then redistributed to states that have additional eligible projects ready to move forward.
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