Action Summary 

Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization Board Meeting 

March 15, 2018 

The Regional Board Room, 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, Virginia 

1. Call to Order 

The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 10:30 a.m. 

Chair Thomas Shepperd requested a moment of silence for the two Oceana Naval Aviators who lost their lives in a Florida training accident on Wednesday. 

2. Approval of Agenda 

The HRTPO Board unanimously approved the agenda as written 

3. Executive Director Report 

Mr. Robert Crum provided a summary of current work activities of the HRTPO with particular note of the following: 

• Legislation from the 2018 General Assembly Session has provided the HRTPO the opportunity to coordinate transit efforts with the region’s transit agencies and local jurisdictions. Staff is currently researching the legislation and will brief the HRTPO Board in May. 

WORKSHOP AGENDA 

4. Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) Members Update 

Mr. John Malbon stated the CTB will hold its next meeting on March 20-21 in Richmond. He noted that VDOT will hold its Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) public meeting on April 16, 2018 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. in the Regional Board Room. 

5. Virginia Department of Transportation Update 

Mr. James Utterback stated that the March 2018 HRTAC Program Development Monthly Executive Report was included at the table as a handout. 

He indicated that VDOT is evaluating the three Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) received for the Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel Widening Project and noted that two of the teams submitted proposals for both immersed tube and bored tunnels. VDOT will make a notification in early April regarding the short-listed teams. He stated that VDOT has started a re-evaluation of the HRBT Corridor and letters to constitutions have been sent out, especially in Hampton and Norfolk. The re-evaluation will focus on four items: 

1) Evaluation of the corridor from I-664 to I-564 for a High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lane 

2) Evaluation of the corridor from I-664 to I-564 for a HOT Managed Shoulder Lane 

3) Evaluation to tie-in the I-564 Interchange to the project which was not part of the original SEIS 

4) Advanced acquisition of a parcel on Willoughby Spit for a construction staging area 

Mr. Crum requested Mr. Utterback brief the HRTPO Board in May with more specifics on the project, including a refined cost estimate. Mr. Utterback replied affirmatively. 

6. Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Update 

Ms. Jennifer DeBruhl reported that there was significant transit legislation that came out of the 2018 General Assembly Session including a reform package that contains three items: 

1) To develop and implement a project-based prioritization process for transit capital projects was outlined in the Revenue Advisory Board report that was filed with the General Assembly last summer. The process is required to be in place by July 1, 2019. 

2) A new operating allocation formula which will require DRPT to shift from what has been a two-part allocation process to a formula that is based solely on performance factors. The new formula is also required to be in place by July 1, 2019 and will apply to the FY 2020 funding cycle. 

3) A strategic planning requirement which would apply to any transit operators that are operating in the urbanized area of the state and operate over 20 buses in daily service. The strategic planning requirement will include attaining and maintaining a state of good repair, an operational efficiency component, and service to underserved communities. The CTB will provide guidance on the new requirement by December 1, 2018 and DRPT will work with the Transit Service Delivery Advisory Committee (TSDAC) to implement this piece of the legislation. 

Ms. DeBruhl indicated that DRPT will brief the HRTPO Board at a future date regarding the implementation of the reform package as it is developed and rolled out. 

7. Virginia Port Authority Update 

Ms. Cathie Vick reported that both terminal projects are well underway at the Virginia Port. Conduit is being laid for the rail mounted cranes at NIT, the North Gate is fully operational, and the motor carrier reservation system to mitigate the flow of trucks throughout the day has been implemented. She noted that $20 million is currently in the Governor’s budget for preliminary and design funds for the deepening and widening of the Harbor. 

8. HRT and WATA Updates 

Mr. William Harrell reported that HRT has been tracking the transit legislation in the General Assembly and stated that HRT is well poised to be able to meet the requirements of the strategic plan component. He stated it will be helpful to coordinate with WATA, Suffolk Transit, and the HRTPO regarding this legislation. He noted that a minimum of $15 million will be needed to replace 25 buses long-term, and the Tide is projected to require $7 million a year long-term for state of good repair. He believes that this legislation is an important step in terms of having a systematic way of addressing dedicated funding for Hampton Roads. 

There was no WATA representative in attendance. 

9. Community Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) Update 

Mr. Ron Broughton had no comments. 

10. Military Liaisons Updates 

Colonel Herbert Joliat of Joint Langley Eustis had no comments. 

Commander Ken Kostecki of the U.S. Coast Guard reported that the Virginia Harbor Safety Committee met on February 1, 2018 and was briefed by Mr. Utterback on the two types of tunnel techniques that could be utilized to build the new tubes of the HRBT. He stated that the immersion technique, if chosen, would significantly impact Harbor traffic. 

Commander Susanne Weinrich of the U.S. Navy had no comments. 

11. Hampton Roads Regional Priority Projects – Round 2: Dale Stith, HRTPO 

Ms. Dale Stith, HRTPO Principal Transportation Planner, summarized her briefing on Round 2 of the Hampton Roads Regional Priority Projects from the February 2018 HRTPO Board meeting and noted that although staff has developed draft prioritization scores for some of the candidate projects, some scores could not be compiled due to on-going studies associated with them. Over the next two years, once these studies have been completed, and in conjunction with the receipt of critical financial information regarding a more finalized cost estimate for the HRBT project and the receipt of any SMART SCALE funding, staff will be able to compile more definitive prioritization scores. 

Ms. Stith indicated a resolution was included in the HRTPO Agenda for the Board to: 

• continue its support of the Regional Priority Projects fiscally-constrained in the region’s 2040 LRTP, to be funded, in whole or in part, with HRTF revenues; and 

• as part of the development of the 2045 LRTP, support the analyses of additional regional projects that meet the criteria established for HRTF revenues, and that all candidate projects not already committed will be evaluated as part of the development of the 2045 

This item will be included in the meeting agenda for approval under Item #17-G. 

12. SMART SCALE Update: Mike Kimbrel, HRTPO 

Mr. Mike Kimbrel, HRTPO Deputy Executive Director, briefed HRTPO Board on SMART SCALE Funding and reported that currently, the statewide estimates for Round 3 are: 

• $467 million for High Priority Projects Program 

• $467 million for District Grants Programs o Approximately $94 million for Hampton Roads District 

Mr. Kimbrel stated that after reviewing the SMART SCALE evaluation criteria and policies, as well as the current timeline for the Regional Priority Projects, the HRTPO staff recommends submitting a pre-application and full application for the following project: 

• I-64/Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Widening o Current cost estimate: $3.8 billion 

o Proposed SMART SCALE request: $200 – $300 million  

This item will be included in the meeting agenda for approval under Item #17-H. 

13. Highway Gateways Used by Port Trucks: Robert Case, HRTPO 

Dr. Robert Case, HRTPO Chief Transportation Engineer, briefed the HRTPO Board on the primary highway gateways of Hampton Roads used by trucks serving the Port of Virginia. HRTPO staff utilized StreetLight data collected from GPS-equipped truck fleets to aid in this determination. 

This item was included in the meeting agenda for approval under Item #17-F. 

MEETING AGENDA 

14. Public Comment Period (limit 3 minutes per individual) 

A Citizen from Portsmouth expressed concern regarding the passage of Senate Bill 942 in the 2018 General Assembly Session and communication to the region’s citizens regarding this bill. 

15. Submitted Public Comments 

There were no submitted public comments in the agenda packet. 

16. Transcribed Public Comments From Previous HRTPO Meeting 

This item was for informational purposes. 

ACTION ITEMS 

Mr. Crum requested the recommended actions from Agenda Items #11 and #12 be placed on the Consent Agenda as Items #17-G and #17-H, respectively. He noted that staff had wanted to ensure there was a general consensus from the Board before including these items in the Consent Agenda. 

The HRTPO Board unanimously approved to include the above two items in the Consent Agenda. 

17. Approval of Consent Items 

The HRTPO Board unanimously approved the Consent Agenda items. 

INFORMATION ITEMS 

18. HRTPO Board Three-Month Tentative Schedule 

This item was for informational purposes. 

19. Correspondence of Interest 

This item was for informational purposes. 

20. Minutes of HRTPO Committee Meetings 

This item was for informational purposes. 

21. For Your Information 

This item was for informational purposes. 

22. Old/New Business 

There was no old/new business. 

ADJOURNMENT