FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 26, 2026
Time Requested: 02:52 PM |
| Agency: |
Transportation, WV Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2975 |
Introduced |
HB4835 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Roads and Transportation |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
State Road Fund
Sources of Revenue:
Special Fund
Legislation creates:
Creates New Expense, Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The following was used to derive the anticipated cost of obtaining compliance with the bill. There are currently 1280 signalized intersections in the state. Of the 1280 signals, 810 are part of a coordinated signal system intended to run in coordination to improve traffic flow. There are 157 individual coordinated signal systems in the state, which results in an average of approximately 5 signals per coordinated system. It is estimated that approximately 40 of these systems include divided highway intersections. There are 470 standalone signals in the state not part of a system. It is estimated that 33% of these signals, or 155 of these signals are at divided highway intersections.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2027
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
329,481 |
329,481 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
329,481 |
329,481 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
There are currently 1280 signalized intersections in the state.
Of the 1280 signals, 810 are part of a coordinated signal system intended to run in coordination to improve traffic flow. There are 157 individual coordinated signal systems in the state, which results in an average of approximately 5 signals per coordinated system. It is estimated that approximately 40 of these systems include divided highway intersections. There are 470 standalone signals in the state not part of a system. It is estimated that 33% of these signals, or 155 of these signals are at divided highway intersections. At this time, remote communication is possible to 26.5% of the signals statewide. Therefore, it is assumed that 41 of the effected standalone signals have remote communication and 114 don’t. For the standalone signals, the required modification could be made to 41 of the signals remotely. Cost for this would be one engineer at $79.80/hr. 1 hr per signal. Total cost $3271.80. For the remaining 114 standalone signals, the modifications would need to be made onsite. Calculations were performed to determine an average driving distance of 1.75 hours to each signal. It is estimated that making the modifications would take approximately 2 weeks to complete. This would require 2 electronic technicians at approximately $45.46 per hour each. Total estimated cost is $7,273.60. For the traffic signal systems, these systems are more complex than a standalone signal. In order to provide a conservative estimate, it is contemplated that each system would require traffic turning movement counts to be taken and a new system timing plan generated. This is typically done using consultant services. The estimated cost for a 5 signal system would be about $7500. For 40 systems, the total cost would be $300,000 for the counts and retiming plans.
Of the 40 systems, 26.5%, or 11 could be reprogrammed through remote communications. Cost for this would be one engineer at $79.80/hr., and would take 5 hours per system. Total cost $4,389.00. The remaining 29 systems would need to reprogrammed onsite. Assumed average driving distance of 1.75 hours to each system. Assuming modifications can be made to 2 systems per day including travel time, it is estimated that making the modifications would take approximately 4 weeks to complete. This would require 2 electronic technicians at approximately $45.46 per hour. Total estimated cost is $14,547.20.
Total estimated cost to implement is $329,481.60.
Memorandum
In addition to the above implementation costs, there would be perpetual user costs associated with this modification which can be quantified based on user delay.
US-119 (Corridor G) from WV-61 in Charleston to the KY state line was used as a basis for determining the expected user costs. There are 19 signals along Corridor G. The average amount of total traffic entering each intersection along US-119 is 22,453 vehicles per day. It is estimated that this change would add on average 1.5 seconds of delay for each approaching vehicle at each intersection. Using $8.75 as the “value” of 1 hour of a drivers time including taking into account additional fuel consumption costs, this calculates to a total estimated user delay cost of $42.04 per signal, per day. Using the above value, there are 40 signal systems estimated to be affected by the bill. Estimating that 33% of the signals in these systems are on divided highways, the calculated annual user delay cost is $1,012,743.60
With respect to standalone signals, assuming 33% of the total standalone signals in the state are on divided highways, the calculated annual user delay cost is $2,379,947.46.
Including implementation costs and user costs, the estimated cost for implementation and user delays for the first year would be $3,722.172.66, and the estimated user delay costs would be $3,392,691.06 each year thereafter.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Jonathan Schaffer
Email Address: jonathan.w.schaffer@wv.gov