DEPARTMENT NAME HERE

Virginia DOT Project Prioritization 

NOTEWORTHY PRACTICE 

FHWA-SA-19-013

To ensure the best use of limited transportation funds when selecting projects for 

the State’s long-range transportation plan, the Virginia Department of 

Transportation uses the SMART SCALE tool to help establish priorities. 

Transportation projects are scored on an outcome-based process that is 

transparent to the public and aids decision makers in making sound transportation 

investments.

Project Prioritization 

Over a 20-year period, traffic related 

fatalities and serious injuries were 

trending downward in Virginia. 

However, fatalities have increased in 

the past several years.

To reduce traffic-related serious

injuries and fatalities and achieve its 

Toward Zero Deaths vision, the 

Virginia Department of 

Transportation (VDOT) has been 

urging all road users to “Arrive Alive” 

when they drive, walk, or ride.

1 VDOT recognized, however, that to help Virginians achieve this, there was a need to 

prioritize its safety investments and focus its efforts on those programs and projects that would best meet the State’s 

safety needs and goals.

Fatalities and Serious Injuries in Virginia (1996–2015).

(Source: https://www.virginiadot.org/info/resources/SHSP/VA_2017_SHSP_Final_complete.pdf)

SMART SCALE 

One tool that assists in finding a way to better balance transportation needs and prioritize investments is SMART SCALE2:

Funding the Right Transportation Projects in Virginia. Initiated through new legislation in Virginia in 2014, this tool offers 

a method of scoring planned projects included in VTrans (Virginia’s long-range transportation plan). The projects are 

scored based on an objective, outcome-based process that is transparent to the public (by making the project scorecard 

public) and allows decision-makers to make sound investment decisions that are responsive to the State’s needs and 

residents. The SMART SCALE evaluation process uses quantitative measures to assess the degree to which a project 

addresses a specific need relative to the requested funding. The process includes five steps that take projects from initial 

proposal to final programming.3SMART SCALE also offers a dashboard that provides a brief overview of the ongoing 

projects.

SMART SCALE Process Steps.
Project Eligibility and Eligible 

Applicants

Regional and local entities can 

submit projects for SMART SCALE 

evaluation. Eligible entities include 

metropolitan planning organizations, 

planning district commissions, and 

public transit agencies. Counties, 

cities, and towns may also be eligible 

if they meet certain criteria. Eligible 

projects must focus on capacity and 

operational improvements for 

roadways, transit, bicycle, and 

pedestrian programs, or 

transportation demand management. SMART SCALE Dashboard.

Project Screening

Submitted projects must meet a need identified under one or more of the following categories: corridors of statewide 

significance, regional networks, urban development areas, and transportation safety needs.4

Project Evaluation, Scoring and Prioritization 

The project evaluation process has six factors: safety, congestion mitigation, accessibility, environmental quality, 

economic development, and land use. Each factor has measures that quantify the project benefits. The measures for the 

safety factor are the number of fatal and severe injury crashes and the rate of fatal and severe injury crashes. This 

approach prioritizes projects based on the evaluation scores. 

Key Accomplishments

 Encourages analysis of project benefits (dollar value from crash reduction) on a basis of relative costs.

 Develops SMART SCALE weighted crash modification factors for different countermeasures. Current 

methodology weights fatalities 18 times greater than severe injuries. These weighting values help SMART SCALE 

in developing appropriate scores for project prioritization.

 Supports improved transparency and enhanced accountability by making the project scorecards available to the 

public.

 Ensures stronger and more thorough project planning.

Summary and Outcome

To evaluate the safety benefits of a proposed project, Virginia uses SMART SCALE, which develops planning-level metrics 

using state-specific data. As a result, the commonwealth has seen a substantial increase in quality safety projects. 

Overall, this data-driven prioritization process encourages applicants to consider safety improvements where they are 

needed. SMART SCALE received the State Transformation in Action Recognition award in 2016.5SMART SCALE is 

instrumental in measuring the safety effectiveness of many innovative intersection safety countermeasures including 

continuous green T, displaced left turn, and restricted crossing U-turn. 

Contact Information

Chad Tucker, Program Manager, SMART SCALE, chad.tucker@oipi.virginia.gov, 804-786-2974.

References

1 Virginia Department of Transportation. 2017–2021 Virginia Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

http://www.virginiadot.org/info/resources/SHSP/VA_2017_SHSP_Final_complete.pdf.

2 SMART SCALE stands for System Management and Allocation of Resources for Transportation: Safety, Congestion, Accessibility, Land Use, Economic Development 

and Environment.

3 Virginia Department of Transportation. SMART SCALE. http://vasmartscale.org/.

4 Virginia Department of Transportation. SMART SCALE Application Guide. http://smartscale.org/documents/2016smartscaleapplicationguide.pdf.

5 Virginia Department of Transportation. Virginia Receives Top Honors for SMART SCALE Transportation Prioritization Process.

http://www.virginiadot.org/newsroom/statewide/2016/virginia_receives_top_honors106027.asp.