Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
secretary
Transportation
Agency
Department of Transportation
Board
Department of Transportation
Mandate 369

Mandate Information
Mandate Title:
Access Management Regulations: Minor Arterials, Collectors, and Local Highways
Purpose of legislation
Chapters 863 and 928 of the 2007 Acts of Assembly (HB2228 and SB1312, respectively) amended §§ 33.1-13, 33.1-198 and 33.1-199 of the Code of Virginia, and added § 33.1-198.1 to the Code of Virginia. The legislation requires the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner (Commissioner) to develop comprehensive highway access management regulations and standards to preserve and improve the efficient operations of the state systems of highways. The regulations and design standards are to be used to manage the location, number, and spacing and design of entrances and intersections, including median openings, turn lanes, traffic signals, and interchanges on the systems of state highways. Although initial promulgation of the regulations was exempt from the Administrative Process Act (APA) (§ 2.2-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia), the legislation directed the Commissioner to solicit and consider public comment in their development. The Commissioner was further directed by the legislation to publish the regulations no later than December 31, 2007, to be effective July 1, 2008. Two bills were introduced in the 2008 General Assembly which addressed VDOT’s promulgation of the regulations. Chapters 274 and 454 (2008) amended the enactment clauses of Chapters 863 and 928 of the 2007 Acts of Assembly to remove the exemption from the requirements of the APA. These bills were subsequently amended to allow for the access management regulations to be promulgated in phases. The first phase (initial promulgation of regulations applicable to principal arterials) is exempt from the APA, and the regulations will go into effect July 1, 2008. Subsequent phases (promulgation of regulations applicable to minor arterials, collectors, and local highways) are subject to the APA and will go into effect October 1, 2009.
Legislation mandating a change Chap 274 (2008)
Chap 454 (2008)
VAC chapters to be amended
24 vac 30 - 73 : Access Management Regulations
Associated Regulatory Actions
Action 2692: Promulgation of APA-Subject Regulation and Related Standards to Satisfy Legislative Mandate
Latest Stage: Final
Deadline for the regulation to become effective 1/10/2009
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