{"id":491772,"date":"2022-02-15T06:59:31","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T14:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=491772"},"modified":"2022-08-04T12:15:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T19:15:44","slug":"virginia-smart-scale-prioritizes-infrastructure-projects","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/virginia-smart-scale-prioritizes-infrastructure-projects","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Ahead of Curve on Prioritizing Infrastructure Projects"},"author":1161,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1021],"tags":[471,271,471782,323442],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[478302],"esri_blog_department":[478202],"class_list":["post-491772","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transportation","tag-funding","tag-mapping","tag-prioritization","tag-projects","esri-blog-category-transportation","esri_blog_department-infrastructure"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"States are set to receive funds to repair aging infrastructure, and Virginia is ready with a detailed list of priority projects.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"<div><span lang=\"EN\">Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) have leveraged GIS to assist with evaluation and prioritization of infrastructure projects across the state.<\/span><\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Virginia infrastructure projects are prioritized based on key criteria including safety, congestion, accessibility, and economic development.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>State transportation officials apply GIS to analyze, map, and monitor plans as well as progress.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A shared online dashboard provides a visual and map-based interface for stakeholders and the public.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"With $110 billion flowing to states and local governments across the US to repair and rebuild roads and bridges as part of President Joe Biden\u2019s infrastructure bill, deciding how to prioritize work will present its own unique challenge. At least one state will know exactly where to start, though. Virginia\u2019s geographic approach to prioritizing infrastructure projects has already enabled the state to embark on one of the largest transportation projects in the country: expanding a busy 3.5-mile, four-lane bridge-and-tunnel system.\r\n\r\nThe Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment has partnered with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to develop a way to score projects across six main categories: safety, congestion, accessibility, land use, environment, and economic development. The approach, known as SMART SCALE, uses a geographic information system (GIS) to visualize and analyze all relevant data in the context of location.\r\n\r\n\u201cPeople are realizing that we need to attack transportation problems in a fundamentally different way,\u201d said Chad Tucker, SMART SCALE project manager. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of great data sources that we have now that we can rely on to focus on the real problem areas and try to move the needle from a performance standpoint.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[491892,491922]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For example, there's a proposal to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) in coastal Virginia, ranked highest for its impact on congestion, access to jobs, multimodal and intermodal access, and travel time reliability. The commuter route links some of Virginia\u2019s most populous cities separated by water and is an essential route for people living and working on opposite sides. Its ability to handle growing traffic meets a transportation need as well an economic one, allowing local industry to continue to thrive.\r\n\r\nThese are the same needs so many other states, cities, and counties will consider with new funding on the horizon for fixes to roads and bridges.\r\n\r\nIn 2016, then Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne <a href=\"https:\/\/smartscale.org\">credited SMART SCALE<\/a> for being one of the primary momentum drivers to make the HRBT expansion happen, calling it a \u201ckeystone project\u201d that tied together other transportation work in the region.\r\n\r\nNow, in another project in Virginia using the SMART SCALE program, nearly 10 miles of the I-64 corridor bridging the cities of Norfolk and Hampton, including the 3.5-mile stretch of the HRBT tunnel, will have double the lanes\u2014eight\u2014by 2025. Its $3.8 billion total price tag makes it the largest transportation project in Virginia\u2019s history.\r\n<h3><strong>Setting a Standard Criteria for Project Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe process of vetting proposed projects for Virginia\u2019s Transportation Plan (VTrans) begins with a multimodal needs assessment along the state\u2019s transportation network, evaluating congestion, safety problems, and more. \u201cThere are plenty of needs. That\u2019s the point,\u201d said Brooke Jackson, senior engineer at VDOT, speaking about the carefully cataloged list of requirements that determine what projects are eligible. Jackson says there are always far too many projects to fit available funding, and this metrics-driven approach lends fairness and a scorecard approach that lets submitters see where their proposals succeeded or fell short.\r\n\r\nFunding rounds are open to Virginia cities, counties, towns, and public transportation agencies on a two-year revolving schedule. If a proposed infrastructure project meets a need identified by VTrans and the SMART SCALE program\u2019s readiness and eligibility criteria, the project can be considered and evaluated."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[497792,497782]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Before SMART SCALE was implemented in 2015, municipalities needed to get on a list kept by the governor. When a new administration came in, the project could be halted, money wasted, and no one held accountable.\r\n\r\nTraditional funding mechanisms caused projects to take too long, and without having to prove the value of the investment, political will was at the core of prioritization. SMART SCALE sets out to remove politics and instead let data and expected outcomes drive decision-making.\r\n\r\n\u201cEverybody can see the data and what could be studied,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about picking and choosing political favorites. It\u2019s about providing benefits and improved system performance to help move people and goods.\u201d\r\n\r\nNow, with a public GIS-powered dashboard, each project and project stakeholder have accountability. Anyone can see which projects have been selected for funding, why each project was selected, and furthermore, whether they are on schedule and on budget."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[491822,491812]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Addressing Equity and Showing Transparency<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nProjects are also monitored throughout their life cycle to ensure they are meeting goals. Of the approximately 400 applications submitted each year, fewer than half are selected for funding. Those chosen are expected to complete their projects within six years; the first six-year cycle has recently wrapped up.\r\n\r\nManaging each project during this cycle has been easier, with the GIS-powered SMART SCALE approach ensuring continuity between project description, features, sketch, and estimate. Any stakeholder, including residents, can refer to the interactive map and dashboard to follow progress locally or across the state.\r\n\r\nSMART SCALE is also helping address <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/infrastructure-management\">infrastructure equity<\/a>. Analysis of who benefits from projects is built into the process; this wasn\u2019t necessarily the case before SMART SCALE. Education and poverty levels are considered when scoring improvement projects. Accessibility, including access to public transit to connect people to jobs, is another key consideration for equitable mobility.\r\n\r\nWhether projects are implemented by localities or by VDOT, their progress is being tracked on the same public dashboard and held to the same standards. This transparency encourages participants to explain their mistakes\u2014why it happened and how it will be fixed or prevented in the future\u2014and to resist the urge to conceal failure, rather learn from it.\r\n\r\nTo gain the public\u2019s trust and bolster the program\u2019s integrity, there are a few other rules, too: show your work and maintain communication after funding and throughout implementation.\r\n\r\n\u201cWith SMART SCALE, you\u2019re getting all the money you ask for, and in six or seven years we expect to see it built,\u201d Jackson said.\r\n\r\nSo far, the results in Virginia have been positive, and perhaps this will be a model for other states to emulate when prioritizing and managing upcoming infrastructure projects.\r\n\r\n\u201cCommunication is better, investment into the system is better,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWorking toward a bigger goal with a plan is important. We are getting a lot more projects completed start to finish in a faster time with a transparent process.\u201d\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLearn how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/roads-highways\/overview\">departments of transportation apply location intelligence to improve mobility, safety, and reliability<\/a>."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Virginia Ahead of Curve on Prioritizing Infrastructure Projects<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) leveraged GIS to evaluate and prioritize infrastructure projects across the state.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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