State Highways in Virginia - Secondary Highways - History - Byrd Road Act (1932), Secondary Roads System

Byrd Road Act (1932), Secondary Roads System

The Secondary Roads system in Virginia was formed in 1932, when the financial pressures of the Great Depression prompted the state to take over most county roads through the Byrd Road Act.

Virginia's independent cities were not included, but all the counties in Virginia were given the option of turning this responsibility over to the state. Only four counties initially opted not to do so. Of these, Nottoway County opted in the following year, and in the 1950s, Warwick County became an independent city and was consolidated with another, Newport News. By the end of the 20th century, only Arlington and Henrico Counties continue to maintain their own roads.

Generally, when an area became part of an independent city, through annexation, merger, consolidation, or conversions, the secondary roads passed from the state system to local responsibility. An exception was made by the General Assembly in the former Nansemond County, which like Warwick County, became an independent city and consolidated with another, Suffolk in the 1970s. The state still maintained secondary routes in Suffolk until July 1, 2006. This arrangement eventually led to new conflicts over ownership and responsibility for the c. 1928 Kings Highway Bridge across the Nansemond River on State Route 125, which was closed in 2005 by VDOT for safety reasons.

In the years after 1932, the state worked diligently on secondary roads. In 1932, there were only 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of hard-surfaced secondary roads, out of almost 36,000 miles (58,000 km). By 1972, there were only 400 miles (640 km) of unpaved secondary roads in Virginia's system.

The state's secondary roads system had also grown by 30% from its original size, despite the large geographical areas (and miles of roadway) lost over the years to expanding and additional independent cities and incorporated towns. In the years from 1952 to 1976, virtually all of the counties in the extreme southeastern portion of state in the Hampton Roads region became consolidated into independent cities; Princess Anne County, Norfolk County, Nansemond County, Elizabeth City County, and Warwick County all became extinct, although as previously noted, Warwick County was never in the state secondary road system, and Nansemond County received a special exception to stay in the system for an additional 30 years, a relationship that ended in 2006. In most other areas of the state, additional towns became incorporated and/or converted to independent city status, and both groups grew in territory, primarily through annexations, such as large portions of Chesterfield County, which were annexed by the City of Richmond in 1944 and 1970.

However, despite VDOT (and its predecessor agencies) accomplishments, the relationship between the counties and the state highway officials since 1932 has always been somewhat strained. The 1932 Act took not only financial responsibility from the counties and transferred it to the state, but power and authority as well. Under the Code of Virginia, as amended, "The Boards of Supervisors or other governing bodies...shall have no control, supervision, management, and jurisdiction over...the secondary system of state highways" (§33.1-69).