Title of Regulation: 24VAC30-500. Roads in the Grounds of State Parks (repealing 24VAC30-500-10).

Statutory Authority: §§ 33.2-210 and 33.2-311 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: October 14, 2021.

Agency Contact: JoAnne P. Maxwell, Agency Regulatory Coordinator, Governance and Legislative Affairs Division, Virginia Department of Transportation, 1401 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-1830, FAX (804) 225-4700, or email joanne.maxwell@vdot.virginia.gov.

Background: Section 33.2-311 of the Code of Virginia states that all highways in state parks that provide connections between highways outside such parks shall continue to be portions of the primary state highway system. Some highways in state parks do not provide connections between highways outside of the parks, and those highways would instead be part of the secondary system of state highways.

Section 33.2-312 of the Code of Virginia states that the Commissioner of Highways may maintain all highways within the boundaries of any state park established by and under the control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and may maintain those highways by expending funds under the commissioner's control and available for expenditure upon the maintenance of highways in the secondary state highway system in the county in which such state park is located. Where Department of Transportation (VDOT) maintenance of a secondary highway is no longer necessary, VDOT may discontinue maintenance of such highway pursuant to § 33.2-908 of the Code of Virginia. A discontinuance usually results in maintenance responsibility being assumed by the locality in which the highway is located. This regulation states that if the entity that controls the parks requests to be allowed to maintain the secondary highways, and the Board of Supervisors of that locality approves, the maintenance responsibility may be transferred to the entity that controls the park, which then falls, pursuant to § 10.1-200 of the Code of Virginia, to DCR, but the regulation gives discretionary guidance to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) and Commissioner of Highways. Since the content of the regulation is discretionary, the purpose of the regulation can be accomplished through an existing VDOT guidance document, current CTB policy, and the Commissioner of Highways Department Memorandum on the subject, making the regulation redundant and unnecessary.

Summary:

The amendments repeal Roads in the Grounds of State Parks (24VAC30-500).