Virginia DOT gets $55.5 million in extra federal funds for road work

Updated Oct 9, 2015

Virginia welcome signThe Federal Highway Administration recently reallocated $55.5 million in federal funds to Virginia that will go toward repaving 400 miles of roadways and improving 17 Interstate bridges across the state.

The money was initially allocated to other states, but the FHWA reviews funding each fall to see which states will be able to put the federal funding to use by the end of the fiscal year.

If a state can’t use all of its allocated funding, it must be returned to the FHWA, which then redistributes the money to other states with projects lined up but no funding.

“Virginia aggressively pursues federal dollars for transportation, maximizing all resources available, which leaves us in an excellent position to get more funding,” Gov. 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.”

Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Lane said the bonus funds were “the result of VDOT managing its program efficiently and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.” Lane said Virginia allocated its initial funds effectively and planned ahead to have more projects ready to go.

VDOT Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick said the additional FHWA funding helps keep the state’s roads and bridges safe.

“The ‘bonus’ funding will go toward rehabilitating Virginia’s aging bridges and pavements across the state,” Kilpatrick said. “VDOT is committed to keeping our existing infrastructure of 57,867 miles of roadways and 20,900 bridges in safe and good condition.”