Access Management Regulations and Standards

The Access Management Regulations 24VAC30-73 apply to state maintained highways in Virginia, including principal arterials, minor arterials, collectors, and local streets.

The Access Management Design Standards are located in Appendix F in the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Road Design Manual.

PDFs

• Access Management Regulations  24VAC (114 KB)
  
  
• Access Management Regulations provide flexibility in their application
  
  
• Frequently asked questions on the regulations and standards (PDF, 110 KB)

No entrance to a VDOT highway may be constructed unless its location and design comply with the access management regulations and design standards. Permission to construct an entrance is granted through a land use permit.
 

What Is Access Management?

Access management focuses on the location, spacing, and design of entrances, street intersections, median openings, and traffic signals.

Each of these creates conflict points where vehicles have to stop or slow down, disrupting the flow of traffic.   

As the number of conflict points increase, so does traffic congestion and crashes.

Better management of access to the highway can reduce the number of conflict points and their adverse impact on highway operation and public safety.

Roads are a critical public resource and constitute a major investment of the public’s money.

Access management can maximize this investment.

In other states, access management has led to a more efficient traffic flow that raises the average travel speed allowing the roadway to move more traffic.  

Because the motorist spends less time waiting in traffic, fuel efficiency is maximized, air pollution is reduced, and commuting times become shorter.

Businesses benefit because better mobility expands their market area.

Virginia’s Access Management Legislation

The 2007 General Assembly unanimously approved legislation (Chapter 863)  (PDF, 32 KB) directing VDOT to develop access management regulations and standards during 2007 with the goals to:    

• Reduce traffic congestion
  
  
• Enhance public safety by limiting conflicting traffic movements
  
  
• Reduce the need for new highways and road widening by maximizing the performance of existing state highways
  
  
• Support economic development by promoting the efficient movement of goods and people
  
  
• Preserve the public investment in new and existing highways
  
  
• Ensure that private property is entitled to reasonable access to the highways

To accomplish these legislative goals, regulations and standards were adopted for: spacing entrances; intersections; median openings and traffic signals; locating entrances a safe distance from intersection turning movements and from interchange ramps; providing vehicular, and where appropriate, pedestrian circulation between adjoining properties; and sharing highway entrances.

The 2008 General Assembly directed VDOT to implement the access management regulations and standards in phases. 

The first phase regulations and standards applied to VDOT highways functionally classified as principal arterials and took effect July 1, 2008.

The second phase applied to VDOT highways classified as minor arterial, collector, and local and became effective on Oct.14, 2009.  

These two regulations were combined into one on Dec. 5, 2013.

Information on the Regulations and Standards

Information on the functional classification of highways and a PowerPoint presentation on the regulations and standards are below.

• About highway functional classifications (PDF, 35 KB)
  
• Maps that identify the classification of state highways by locality and region
  
• Presentation on the Virginia Access Management Program   (PDF, 3 MB)
  

The regulations and standards only apply to VDOT-controlled highways.

They do not apply to roads that are maintained by localities (such as cities, towns, and Henrico and Arlington counties).

All parcels of land abutting a state highway will be provided with reasonable access to the highway.

Exceptions to the spacing standards are listed in the regulations for: older business corridors of along VDOT highways, streets within traditional neighborhood developments, highway corridors with access management plans, and a traffic engineering study documenting a reduced spacing distance will not adversely impact highway safety and traffic flow.

Procedures are included for requesting exceptions with deadlines for VDOT decisions. Use the application form below.

• Access management exception request form AM-E

Reductions to the Signal / Intersection / Entrance Spacing Standards  

During the second half of 2011, the spacing standards in Appendix F of the Road Design Manual were evaluated.

VDOT staff, transportation engineering consultants and various stakeholders offered comments and suggestions.   

Based on this information, the spacing standards were revised to assure they are reasonable in providing access to property, yet effective in preventing traffic crashes and maintaining highway capacity.

• Overview of the revisions to the spacing standards
  

Additional Information on Access Management

From the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA):

• Benefits of access management (PDF, 809 KB)
  
• Safe access is good for business
  
  
• Virginia Tech access spacing study (62 KB) An excerpt from a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute on the relationship between managing access near intersections and accident rates.
  
  
• Prior list of principal arterials for access management regulations