VIRGINIA, USA — Author's note: The video above is on file from a separate story from July 15, 2022.
The Biden Administration is giving $64.2 million to Virginia as a part of an infrastructure rebuilding program, the Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
“We are proud to support so many outstanding infrastructure projects in communities large and small, modernizing America’s transportation systems to make them safer, more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
“Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we are supporting more projects than ever before.”
Projects in each state were chosen by criteria like safety, quality of life and economic competitiveness and opportunity.
According to a report from the organization Report Card for America's Infrastructure, the state of Virginia received a C- in 2021.
The organization's research indicates that driving on roads that need to be repaired in Virginia costs each driver $517 a year.
In Hampton Roads, the City of Portsmouth was selected to receive nearly $20 million to re-vamp and improve High Street.
Construction will convert the existing four-lane undivided roadway to a two-lane divided road section with a 16-foot-wide raised median for one mile.
An accessible path will be created for pedestrians and cyclists, and improvements will be made to the storm-water drainage system.
Other cities in Virginia that are set to receive money for infrastructure improvement are Richmond, Tappahannock, Spotsylvania County, Arlington and Albemarle County.