In 2014, legislation was approved which affects the way projects are prioritized in the VDOT Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). Under the Code of Virginia §33.1-23.5:5. Public hearings were held throughout the Commonwealth in September and October 2014 to receive citizen and stakeholder input as well as to inform the public of the new prioritization legislation known as SMART SCALE (System Management and Allocation of Resources for Transportation: Safety, Congestion, Accessibility, Land Use, Economic Development, and Environment). The six prioritization factors included in SMART SCALE are: Safety, Congestion Mitigation, Accessibility, Land Use Coordination, Economic Development, and Environmental Quality.

Staff coordinates and develops applications on behalf of member localities desiring the RVTPO to apply for SMART SCALE projects on their behalf.

In March 2019, following the scoring of the third round of SMART SCALE projects, the RVTPO Policy Board requested staff to develop a historical and comparative analysis of its performance. The full analysis can be found here. In August 2021, following the fourth round of SMART SCALE projects, staff developed another historical and comparative analysis of the RVTPO’s performance. The full analysis can be found here.