Performance Management

Managing and monitoring performance occurs through measures that help us to understand how the transportation system is performing and indicators that help us understand the factors shaping performance.

Plan Invest Manage Image

Through VTrans, Virginia’s statewide transportation plan, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) adopted a vision, goals, and objectives. The goals and objectives support the VTrans vision and shape how we measure progress and how we identify transportation needs and solutions. Measures enable us to quantify progress toward achieving the goals and objectives.

There are federally required measures that address national goals as well as Virginia-specific measures that address the VTrans goals and objectives. Measures connect to planning (PLAN), project development (EVALUATE) and programming (INVEST). This is Virginia’s transportation performance-based planning and programming process.

The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) leads the development of measures and targets related to performance of the Commonwealth’s surface transportation network. The intent of performance management or “MANAGE” is to monitor and evaluate performance to provide insights into system performance, trends, and investment decisions to ensure progress is being made and allow for course-corrections.

Transportation Performance

To do this, we ask three questions:

What Do We Measure?

What Do We Measure?

Performance measures are established in accordance with federal and state requirements.

How Are We Doing?

How Are We Doing?

Performance data for each measure is reviewed and shared to assess progress and prepare recommendations to the CTB to inform investment and policy decisions as well as set performance targets.

How Are We Improving Performance?

How Are We Improving Performance?

Projects and programs are assessed to understand performance outcomes and the effectiveness of investment strategies designed to improve performance.



Details on OIPIs performance management process, and its connection to Virginia’s transportation performance-based planning and programming process, along with technical details on surface transportation measures tracked and reported by OIPI, in coordination with VDOT and DRPT is available through the Performance Management Program Guide.

Measure?

What Do We Measure?

VTrans, the Commonwealth’s statewide multimodal transportation plan, has an established vision — Virginia's transportation system will be Good for Business, Good for Communities, and Good to Go.

Five distinct goals support this vision. The goals communicate the values driving transportation planning, policy, and investment decisions in Virginia. State and federal multimodal performance measures allow OIPI to evaluate performance at different geographic scales, including for Virginia’s metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).

Pursuant to state requirements, the CTB adopts targets for federal performance measures including: highway safety on all public roads, pavement and bridge condition on the National Highway System, and system performance on the National Highway System.

Sept. 2022: CTB Approval of Asset Condition and System Performance Targets

June 2022: CTB Approval of Annual Safety Performance Targets for Calendar Year 2023

June 2021: CTB Approval of Annual Safety Performance Targets for Calendar Year 2022

VTrans Goals

The CTB also adopts statewide targets for unique state measures (safety, pavement, and bridges). These measures reflect state priorities and, for pavements and bridges, look at performance of the entire VDOT owned and maintained roadway system (rather than just the National Highway System, which is the focus of the federal measures). There are other State performance measures (without adopted targets) that are monitored to assess performance against the CTB adopted goals and objectives included in VTrans.

Additionally, there are federal performance management requirements for transit assessment management and public transit safety. DRPT facilitates this process with Virginia’s transit providers. More information on these measures are available below

October 2022: Transit Asset Management Plan

July 2020: Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan

How Are We Doing Now?

How Are We Doing?

Virginia’s multimodal surface transportation network covers more than 129,000 lane miles of roadways, more than 20,000 bridges and structures, over 2,000 miles of on- and off-road bicycle facilities, 40 transit agencies, and 2 passenger rail operators. Monitoring and evaluating performance across the Commonwealth’s vast surface transportation network is a team effort.

map

Working with VDOT and DRPT, OIPI develops a Biennial Report on Surface Transportation Performance in Virginia to track Virginia’s progress on meeting VTrans goals and objectives. This report details performance trends and targets for both State and Federal measures, highlights why performance changed, and describes what we are doing to improve. Virginia routinely submits data and reports to federal partners, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to address requirements for surface transportation within federal code.

How Are We Improving Performance?

How Are We Improving Performance?

Establishing data-driven, target-setting processes yields insight into the benefit of current investment strategies and offers potential for improving how the Commonwealth allocates its transportation dollars.

OIPI, VDOT and DRPT conduct data-driven analyses to assess performance. These analyses provide insights and opportunities to improve or adjust investment strategies, programs, or policies. For example, OIPI and VDOT use a data-driven, target-setting methodology for safety performance measures, the results of which have demonstrated in recent years that limited safety dollars are best spent on systemic safety improvements, which produce greater reductions in fatal and serious injury crashes compared to spot improvements. Systemic safety projects—low-cost improvements, such as high-visibility signs, flashing yellow left turn signals, and rumble strips, systemically spread on a roadway network—are part of the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program strategy.

This data-driven analysis resulted in policy changes and now the CTB reviews and adopts a Highway Safety Improvement Strategy on an annual basis.

OIPI is developing methodologies and metrics by which to monitor the performance of funded SMART SCALE projects. The goal of this effort is to standardize and automate performance evaluations as SMART SCALE projects are completed and to apply similar performance evaluations to other key funding programs at VDOT and DRPT.

Both VDOT and DRPT collaboratively track “on-time” and “on-budget” measures to ensure transparency to the public as it relates to project delivery and schedule.

  • VDOTs Project Dashboard, which tracks implementation of all VDOT administered six-year improvement program (SYIP) projects, is available here
  • DRPTs Project Dashboard, which tracks implementation of all DRPT administered SYIP projects, is available here.