VDOT outlines SmartScale, TAP and revenue‑sharing cycles to Pittsylvania County; staff reviews recent project pipeline
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Summary
County staff and a VDOT planner reviewed transportation grant cycles, SmartScale scoring, and recent local applications including an approved Franklin Turnpike signal and a submitted Safe Streets implementation grant for rumble strips.
County planner Dave Arnold and VDOT Lynchburg district planner Carson Eckhart briefed the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 21 about transportation funding streams, project priorities and upcoming application cycles, including SmartScale, Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and revenue‑sharing opportunities.
Arnold said transportation planning work is tied to the county’s comprehensive plan update and to the Danville Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). He noted that the Danville MPO covers about 16% of Pittsylvania County land area but a larger share of the county’s population; county planning priorities for the rural remainder will be guided by a West Piedmont PDC rural long‑range transportation plan now being updated.
Carson Eckhart, Lynchburg district planner for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said SmartScale is the Commonwealth’s primary even‑year competitive program and evaluates project applications across six factors: safety, congestion, accessibility, land use, environment and economic development. VDOT assigns geographic typologies; Pittsylvania County (Danville MPO) is categorized as a district (category D) that places more emphasis on safety and economic development. Eckhart said SmartScale will open a pre‑application phase in March 2026 with final scores released in January 2027.
Eckhart pointed to recently approved projects from prior cycles and county applications: a traffic signal on Franklin Turnpike at Orphanage Road (ranked first in the district in the last round), a turn‑lane improvement at U.S. 29 and Spring Garden Road (estimated in the low millions), and an application for federal Safe Streets implementation funding for centerline rumble strips and wide edge lines on Mount Cross and Kentuck Roads (a $375,000 application for which the county committed a $75,000 match).
Eckhart summarized best practices learned from the last SmartScale round, including stronger coordination among stakeholders, prioritizing a small set of high‑quality applications and leveraging local funds to improve project scores. He also explained TAP (20% local match and multimodal focus, project cap roughly $2.5 million) and revenue sharing (50% match, used for paving, rural additions and maintenance projects) and said TAP and revenue sharing operate on odd‑year cycles while SmartScale is even‑year.
Supervisors raised concerns about long‑standing unaccepted roads and the county’s ability to bring them up to VDOT standards. VDOT staff and county staff described the rural addition program and revenue‑sharing as potential pathways but said funding is competitive and priority ranking affects the chance of funding.
Why it matters: The presentation framed near‑term funding windows and project priorities for Pittsylvania County. Upcoming SmartScale and other cycles will determine which transportation projects receive state and federal funding; VDOT and county staff urged early coordination and prioritization.
