VPI Conversations: Virginia Department of Transportation

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) began building capacity for Virtual Public Involvement (VPI) in 2019 by hosting an FHWA peer exchange for their staff and partner agencies in the region. Since then, they have rapidly expanded their use of VPI in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. An important part of their efforts has been working with the FHWA Virginia Division Office to develop guidance on the use of virtual public meetings to augment their public involvement for environmental review projects that require in-person hearings. In this video, VDOT’s Susan Thorne and Shane Sawyer discuss how they have used VPI to support planning, project development, and environmental review, and how VDOT is institutionalizing VPI.