How 16 Cities and Counties Developed and Maintain Regional Construction Standards – The Hampton Roads (Virginia) Story

In an effort to make construction more efficient and less costly, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission joined with 16 localities and several regional agencies in Virginia to develop and maintain regional construction standards. These municipalities serve an overall population of approximately 1.6 million.For many years the localities operated relatively independent of each other in developing construction documents. The documents were often not adequately maintained, included out of date information, and overlooked the benefits of new technologies. Contractors, consultants and material suppliers were often confused by the myriad documents in use throughout the region, causing design and construction projects to be more costly and time-consuming.The Standards are intended to promote quality construction, simplify the bidding and construction administration process, provide a means to implement new technologies, reduce construction costs, and improve safety in the public right-of-way.