As reported by Better Roads, Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved a process for scoring and ranking transportation projects to be funded. From the article,

“The scoring process is about investing tax dollars in the projects that will generate the greatest return on investment for Virginians in terms of easing congestion and stimulating economic growth,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement.

The scoring process, which was authorized through legislation that passed in 2014, was developed with input from governing entities across the state.

The scoring process will look at six factors: safety, congestion, accessibility, economic development, environmental quality, and land use. For the latter, projects in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads will have a higher score if congestion is reduce. In other parts of the state, positive economic development will provide a higher score.

This process will be followed to add projects to the Six-Year Improvement Program in June 2016.