Posted: December 8, 2009

Dwight L. Farmer
Executive director
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization

Dwight Farmer joined the staff of the Southeastern Virginia Planning District Commission in 1978 as chief transportation engineer. In 1990 when the Southeastern and Peninsula commissions merged, Farmer was appointed director of transportation. In 1988, he became deputy executive director, overseeing transportation and emergency management. In 2008, the commission board of directors appointed him executive director.

He received a bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering from Virginia Tech and a master's in civil and environmental engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He was appointed to the Virginia Rail Advisory Board and has served as a member and chairman of numerous statewide advisory committees to the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Department of Transportation and the office of the State Secretary of Transportation during the past two decades. He serves on the boards of the Hampton Roads Military Federal Facilities Alliance, the Hampton Roads Partnership, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Rail Policy Institute.

He is a licensed professional engineer and has been an adjunct associate professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Old Dominion University for 30 years.

What is the priority transportation project for Hampton Roads?

This and the following question on how they should be funded must be answered by my board, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization. We are scheduled to complete a technical rating and ranking process in December with a presentation to the board on Dec. 16, the day after this panel meets. It is possible I can share the results of the rating and ranking at the meeting on Dec. 15. Please note that the prioritization process that the HRTPO is currently engaged in, is designed to prioritize within the anticipated future revenue stream. Future revenue streams must be approved by the Virginia General Assembly. As you can see, priority projects depend on funding and funding depends on General Assembly action.

How should it be funded?

The board has been on record for a number of years endorsing a package of funding streams including a combination of tolls, gas taxes, transportation-related fees as well as an increase in the sales tax. The Virginia General Assembly authorized the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority to impose a package of fees in 2007; however, the Virginia General Assembly, on Feb. 29, 2008, ruled those fees to be unconstitutional because the HRTA board members, while local elected officials, had not been elected to impose those taxes and fees.