Title 33.2. Highways and Other Surface Transportation Systems
Subtitle I. General Provisions and Transportation Entities
Chapter 1. Definitions and General Provisions
Chapter 1. Definitions and General Provisions.
§ 33.2-100. Definitions.As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Asset management" means a systematic process of operating and maintaining the systems of state highways by combining engineering practices and analysis with sound business practices and economic theory to achieve cost-effective outcomes.
"Board" means the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
"City" has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-208.
"Commissioner" or "Commissioner of Highways" means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation.
"Department" means the Department of Transportation.
"Federal-aid systems" are the Interstate System and the National Highway System as set forth in 23 U.S.C. § 103.
"Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth.
"Highway purpose," "highway project," or "highway construction" means highway, passenger and freight rail, or public transportation purposes.
"Interstate highway" means any highway in or component of the Interstate System.
"Interstate System" means the same as that term is defined in 23 U.S.C. § 103(c). The "Interstate System" also includes highways or highway segments in the Commonwealth that constitute a part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as authorized and designated in accordance with § 7 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 and § 108(a) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and are declared by resolution of the Commonwealth Transportation Board to be portions of the Interstate System.
"Locality" has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-221.
"Maintenance" means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways.
"Municipality" has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-224.
"National Highway System" means the same as that term is defined in 23 U.S.C. § 103(b).
"Primary highway" means any highway in or component of the primary state highway system.
"Primary state highway system" consists of all highways and bridges under the jurisdiction and control of the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Commissioner of Highways and not in the secondary state highway system.
"Public transportation" or "mass transit" means passenger transportation by rubber-tired, rail, or other surface conveyance that provides shared ride services open to the general public on a regular and continuing basis. "Public transportation" or "mass transit" does not include school buses, charter or sight-seeing services, vehicular ferry service that serves as a link in the highway network, or human service agency or other client-restricted transportation.
"Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. A highway may include two or more roadways if divided by a physical barrier or barriers or unpaved areas.
"Secondary highway" means any highway in or component of the secondary state highway system.
"Secondary state highway system" consists of all public highways, causeways, bridges, landings, and wharves in the counties of the Commonwealth not included in the primary state highway system and that have been accepted by the Department of Transportation for supervision and maintenance.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation.
"Systems of state highways" has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-251.
"Urban highway system" consists of those public highways, or portions thereof, not included in the systems of state highways, to which the Commonwealth Transportation Board directs payments pursuant to § 33.2-319.
Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Code, whenever the Governor finds in his emergency preparedness planning that certain transportation improvements are necessary to avert or respond to a natural disaster, prevent or respond to an act of terrorism, or contribute to military operations during a time of war or state of emergency as defined in § 44-146.16, the Governor may, to the maximum extent not inconsistent with federal law, waive statutory mandates and regulations of any state agency, institution, instrumentality, or political subdivision concerning the issuance of permits or related approvals in order to expedite the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or relocation of such highways, bridges, tunnels, and associated facilities or structures as he deems necessary.
The cities and towns of the Commonwealth and also the counties that have withdrawn from the provisions of Chapter 415 of the Acts of Assembly of 1932, as amended, may comply fully with the provisions of the present or future federal-aid road acts, and to this end they may enter into all contracts or agreements with the United States government or the appropriate agencies thereof relating to the survey, construction, improvement, and maintenance of roads, streets, and highways under their control and may do all other things necessary to carry out fully the cooperation contemplated and provided for by the present or future acts of Congress relating to the construction, improvement, and maintenance of roads, streets, and highways.
Such localities may also cooperate with the Board in connection with any project for the survey, construction, improvement, or maintenance of any road, street, or highway under their jurisdiction and control that is eligible for federal aid under any present or future federal-aid road acts and may by appropriate agreement or contract authorize the Board to act on their behalf in any dealings necessary with the United States or any agency thereof and may authorize the Board to carry out such survey, construction, improvement, or maintenance work on such projects either with or without participation by the locality. Whenever the Board is given such authority by any such locality, it may do all things contemplated and provided for by present or future federal-aid road acts and the agreements made with such locality.
Code 1950, § 33-131; 1970, c. 322, § 33.1-216; 2014, c. 805.
Whenever in this title the Board, Commissioner of Highways, or Department is required to send any mail or notice by certified mail and such mail or notice is sent certified mail, return receipt requested, then any subsequent, identical mail or notice that is sent by the Board, Commissioner of Highways, or Department may be sent by regular mail.
A. Neither the Commissioner of Highways nor the Department shall expend any funds whatsoever for the purpose of (i) converting the units of measure displayed on any highway sign from English units of measure to metric units of measure, (ii) replacing any highway sign displaying English units of measure with one bearing metric units of measure, or (iii) replacing any highway sign displaying English units of measure with one bearing both English and metric units of measure.
B. The Board, Commissioner of Highways, and Department shall use English units of measure in the design, advertisement, construction, and preparation of plans and specifications of every highway, bridge, tunnel, or overpass construction or maintenance project. However, nothing in this section shall prevent the Board, Commissioner of Highways, or Department from continuing the use of metric units of measure in the design, advertisement, or construction of any project or the preparation of plans or specifications for a project if, prior to July 1, 1999, metric units of measure were used in the design, advertisement, plans, or specifications for the project.
1994, cc. 52, 86, § 33.1-190.2; 1999, c. 315, § 33.1-190.3; 2014, c. 805.
When a way has been worked by highway officials as a public highway and is used by the public as such, proof of these facts shall be prima facie evidence that the same is a public highway. And when a way has been regularly or periodically worked by highway officials as a public highway and used by the public as such continuously for a period of 20 years, proof of these facts shall be conclusive evidence that the same is a public highway. In all such cases, the center of the general line of passage, conforming to the ancient landmarks where such exist, shall be presumed to be the center of the way and in the absence of proof to the contrary, the width shall be presumed to be 30 feet.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to convert into a public highway a way of which the use by the public has been or is permissive and the work thereon by the highway officials has been or is done under permission of the owner of the servient tenement.
Code 1950, § 33-98; 1970, c. 322, § 33.1-184; 2014, c. 805.
The Secretary, in consultation and cooperation with the Commissioner of Highways and the Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, shall annually, not later than November 1, submit to the General Assembly a report on actions taken by the Commonwealth, local governments, and regional transportation authorities to (i) increase transit use and (ii) reduce highway congestion and use of single occupant vehicles through programs and initiatives involving transportation demand management, transit use, telecommuting, carpooling, construction of commuter parking facilities, use of flexible work hours, and telecommunications technology.
The Secretary shall, at least once every four years, cause to be conducted an examination of the approval process for maintenance and improvements within the secondary and urban highway systems and adopt policies and procedures to reduce review redundancy and to allow approval at the district office level to the maximum extent practical.
Before any safety-related or congestion management-related highway project requested by any institution of higher education is undertaken in the Commonwealth, the institution of higher education shall conduct at least one public hearing to afford owners of property in the vicinity of the project and users of highways in the vicinity of or likely to be affected by the project an opportunity to submit comments and make their views known regarding the project.
Not less than 30 days prior to any such hearing, a notice of the time and place of the hearing shall also be published by the institution of higher education at least once in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the locality in which the project is to be located and established.
In formulating transportation policy, promulgating regulations, allocating funds, and planning, designing, constructing, equipping, operating, and maintaining transportation facilities, no action of the Board, Commissioner of Highways, or Department shall in any way have the effect of discriminating against motorcycles, motorcycle operators, or motorcycle passengers. No regulation or action of the Board, Commissioner of Highways, or Department shall have the effect of enacting a prohibition or imposing a requirement that applies only to motorcycles or motorcyclists and the principal purpose of which is to restrict or inhibit access of motorcycles and motorcyclists to any highway, bridge, tunnel, or other transportation facility.
The provisions of this section shall also apply to transportation facilities and projects undertaken or operated by localities and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth where public funds have been used in whole or in part to plan, design, construct, equip, operate, or maintain the facility or project.
1999, cc. 332, 496, § 33.1-13.1; 2001, cc. 68, 83; 2014, c. 805.
A. Any person owning land over which another or others have a private road or right-of-way may, except when it is otherwise provided by contract, erect and maintain gates across such roads or right-of-way at all points at which fences extend to such roads on each side thereof. A court of competent jurisdiction may, upon petition, require the landowner to make such changes as may be necessary and reasonable in the use of such roads for both the landowner and the petitioner. Nothing herein shall prohibit the replacement of a gate with a cattle guard as authorized in § 55.1-2809.
B. If any person without permission of the owners of such gate or of the land on which the gate is located leaves the gate open, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C. The owners of forest and timberlands may substantially obstruct or close private and seldom used roads leading to or into such forest or timberlands from the public highways of the Commonwealth at points at or near which the private roads enter their property or forestlands; and, in all cases where any such private road is subject to an easement for travel for the benefit of other lands not regularly and continuously inhabited, the owner of such forest or timberlands may obstruct the road with a gate, chain, cable, or other removable obstruction, lock the obstruction, and after furnishing a key to the lock to the owner or owners of the land or lands to which the forestlands are servient, require those entitled to the easement to unlock and relock such obstruction upon making use of the road.
There shall be no penalty upon the owner of such forest or timberlands for failure to erect such obstructions, but if such obstruction is erected, any person without the permission of the owner who destroys, removes, or leaves the obstruction open or unlocked, in cases where the obstruction is locked by the owner and the keys are furnished as provided in this subsection, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500, provided that in all cases of forest fires upon the owner's lands or those adjacent or near thereto, the expressed permission of the owner shall be deemed given to all persons aiding in extinguishing or preventing the spreading of the fire to remove the obstructions, including the breaking of locks.
Code 1950, §§ 33-119, 33-120, 33-120.1; 1952, c. 695; 1954, c. 457; 1970, c. 322, §§ 33.1-202, 33.1-203, 33.1-204; 2014, c. 805; 2019, c. 542.
Nothing contained in this chapter and no regulation promulgated by the Commissioner of Highways or the Board shall be construed to prohibit or limit the ability of the Board or the Department to fund and undertake pedestrian or bicycle projects except in conjunction with highway projects.
The Board may construct such sidewalks or walkways on the bridges and along the highways under its jurisdiction as it deems necessary for the protection of pedestrian traffic.
All provisions of law with respect to the acquisition of lands and interests therein and the construction, reconstruction, alteration, improvement, and maintenance of highways in the primary and secondary state highway systems, including the exercise of the power of eminent domain by the Board and the Commissioner of Highways, shall be applicable to such sidewalks and walkways.
Code 1950, § 33-121; 1970, c. 322, § 33.1-205; 2014, c. 805.
Any city or town, acting by and through its governing body, may contribute funds or other aid within the control of the city or town toward the building or improvement of permanent public highways leading to the city or town, or of bridges, or to the purchase of bridges, or the establishment, maintenance, or operation of ferries, when in the judgment of such governing body such action will tend to promote the material interest of such city or town. But no contribution shall be made toward the building or improvement of any highway or bridge, or the purchase of bridges, or any ferry, at any point more than 40 miles beyond the corporate limits of the city or town, as measured along the route of such highway.
Code 1950, § 33-129; 1970, c. 322, § 33.1-214; 2014, c. 805.
The powers of the Virginia Aviation Board set out in Chapter 1 (§ 5.1-1 et seq.) of Title 5.1 and the Virginia Port Authority set out in Chapter 10 (§ 62.1-128 et seq.) of Title 62.1 are in no way diminished by the provisions of this title.
Code 1950, § 33-12; 1956, c. 92; 1964, c. 265; 1970, c. 322, § 33.1-12(11); 1974, c. 462; 1977, c. 150; 1978, c. 650; 1986, Sp. Sess., c. 13; 1988, cc. 844, 903; 1989, c. 727; 1992, c. 167; 1995, c. 94; 2001, c. 349; 2003, cc. 281, 533, 560; 2004, c. 110; 2005, cc. 839, 919; 2006, cc. 197, 417, 833, 924; 2006, Sp. Sess. I, c. 8; 2007, c. 337; 2008, Sp. Sess. II, c. 5; 2009, cc. 670, 690; 2011, cc. 104, 164; 2012, cc. 729, 733; 2013, cc. 388, 569, 585, 646, 741; 2014, c. 805.
The Secretary of Transportation and the Department of Transportation shall establish a smart transportation pilot zone to test state-of-the-art smart road technology utilizing the existing state highway network, or the Smart Road managed by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and owned and maintained by the Department of Transportation in Montgomery County, or both.
2014, c. 478.
The Secretary of Transportation and the Department of Transportation shall revise and update statewide transportation technology programs by evaluating and incorporating, where appropriate, new smart road technologies and other innovations in transportation.
2014, c. 477.
All statutes heretofore enacted declaring certain streams and rivers to be highways and providing for removing obstructions therefrom and from other streams shall continue in force.
Code 1950, § 33-97; 1970, c. 322; 2014, c. 805, § 33.1-183; 2015, c. 256.
A. In Planning District 8, any mobile food vending unit with a mobile food establishment permit from the Department of Health may, after securing the appropriate approval from the locality in which the commuter parking lot is located, apply for an additional permit with the Department of Transportation and pay a fee in order to operate such mobile food vending unit in a commuter parking lot owned by the Department of Transportation and vend to commuters. A mobile food vending unit shall not be deemed to be parking for the purposes of § 46.2-1219.2 while it is vending pursuant to a permit issued under this section.
B. The Department shall develop guidelines, consistent with the Board's regulations and policies, to permit mobile food vending as provided in subsection A. Such guidelines shall (i) provide for the issuance of permits by the Department to mobile food vendors authorizing such vendors to operate in commuter parking lots owned by the Department, (ii) establish criteria that the Department will use in evaluating each permit application to ensure that neither the function and purpose of the affected commuter parking lot nor the motor vehicle traffic flow and motorist and pedestrian safety will be adversely affected by the operation of the mobile food vendors, (iii) establish fees for mobile food vending, and (iv) address any other issues related to permit issuance as deemed necessary by the Department.
C. The Department shall publish on its website a permit application form for mobile food vending units to apply for such permit to vend to commuters in commuter lots in Planning District 8 and the established fee for such permit and vending.
2016, c. 765.
A. For purposes of this section, "auxiliary lane" means the portion of the roadway adjoining the traveled way as a shoulder or for speed change, turning, weaving, or the maneuvering of entering and leaving traffic.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no toll may be imposed or collected on un-tolled lanes or components of a highway, bridge, or tunnel without approval from the General Assembly. However, such prohibition shall not apply to (i) reconstruction with additional lanes of a highway, bridge, or tunnel provided that the number of un-tolled non-high-occupancy vehicle lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, after the reconstruction is not less than the number of un-tolled, non-high-occupancy vehicle lanes, excluding auxiliary lanes, prior to such reconstruction; (ii) new construction that is opened to the public as a tolled facility; (iii) new construction that is opened to the public as high-occupancy vehicle lanes; (iv) existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes; or (v) an existing lane on a segment of a highway whose length does not exceed 10 miles and is between an interchange and an interchange or an interchange and a bridge, provided that the number of un-tolled non-high-occupancy vehicle lanes on such segment is equal to the number of un-tolled non-high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the portion of the highway preceding such segment.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B, prior approval of the General Assembly shall be required prior to the imposition and collection of any toll for use of all or any portion of (i) a non-limited access highway except for a bridge, tunnel, or the approaches to a bridge or tunnel; (ii) Interstate 81; or (iii) any primary highway that is wholly located in Planning District 8 and that was previously classified as a secondary highway and is between 30 and 35 miles in length.
2016, c. 780; 2017, c. 836; 2018, Sp. Sess. I, c. 1; 2019, c. 548.
A. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning, "CAFE standards" means the corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks manufactured for sale in the United States that have been implemented pursuant to the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-163), as amended.
B. It is the policy of the Commonwealth to support federal action that provides for:
1. An increase in the CAFE standards from the current standard by promoting performance-based tax credits for advanced technology, fuel-efficient vehicles to facilitate the introduction and purchase of such vehicles; and
2. Market incentives and education programs to build demand for high-efficiency, cleaner vehicles, including tax incentives for highly efficient vehicles.