Virginia Law

A. Policy. Certain streets that require four or more travel lanes to accommodate the projected traffic may be accepted by the department for maintenance after completion of the first two lanes to an acceptable, initial phase of construction, upon the request of the governing body. It is recognized that there is a distinction between those streets that benefit the regional transportation network and those that primarily serve the development of land and local traffic, and, therefore, the criteria for phased construction for each situation differs as described in subsection B of this section.

However, in all cases, the right-of-way required for the road at its complete stage of construction shall be dedicated and accepted as part of the initial street acceptance. In addition, the initial phase of construction shall be designed and constructed to facilitate construction of the remaining phase in a manner that will avoid the need to reconstruct the initial two lanes.

Consideration for the acceptance of any street under the provisions of this section shall be limited to the phased development of only the street's roadway. All other applicable requirements, e.g., public benefit, drainage easements, and administrative procedures, shall apply.

B. Criteria.

1. For streets included in the transportation plan of the locality's comprehensive plan that serve diverse areas of the region or locally, no special agreement or acknowledgement is needed as a prerequisite to acceptance, provided:

a. The street is part of a transportation corridor that was formally adopted as a part of the locality's comprehensive transportation plan prior to the local governing body's approval of the plat or plan for the development of the adjacent land.

b. The transportation corridor is a major thoroughfare planned primarily to move through traffic.

c. When fully developed the street must satisfy the department's functional classification criteria as a major collector or higher.

d. The street has a projected traffic volume of 8,000 vehicles per day or less for a period of 10 years following the date of the acceptance for maintenance by the department.

2. For all other streets, the local governing body's resolution requesting acceptance of the initial two-lane section must include provisions that acknowledge:

a. The local governing body agrees that all costs incurred in the street's complete construction, including right-of-way, engineering, utility adjustment, etc., shall be provided from funds other than those derived from state revenue sources administered by the department, except as may be expressly authorized by the department.

b. The local governing body agrees that it is its responsibility to ensure that the roadway is completed as needed to accommodate the traffic. However, the locality also acknowledges that a determination that the street needs to be completed to its ultimate section will be made by the district administrator's designee once it is determined that the first two lanes will not sustain an acceptable level of service for the functional classification of the roadway in accordance with the Highway Capacity Manual, 2010 (TRB).

C. Procedures.

1. Plats or plans, or both, for the street's complete development, in accordance with all applicable provisions of these requirements, shall be submitted for approval.

2. The plats or plans shall also delineate the street's initial development as proposed pursuant to this section. In no case shall this design provide less than one-half of the roadway typical section required by the applicable requirements for the street's complete development.

3. Unless waived by the district administrator's designee, a capacity analysis shall be submitted to document that an acceptable level of service will be maintained for the intended duration of the initial phase of development. In determining an acceptable level of service, the beneficial effect of the proposed street on the overall transportation network will be considered.

4. A determination will be made by the department in consultation with the locality as to whether the street can be approved for phased development and as to which criterion in subsection B of this section applies.

5. Upon the district administrator's designee's determination that the proposal is in compliance with the applicable provisions of this section, the plans may be approved accordingly.

6. Upon completion of the street's initial phase in accordance with approved plans, its compliance with all other applicable provisions of this section, and the inclusion of the appropriate language in the resolution, the street may be accepted for maintenance by the department as part of the secondary system of state highways.