Virginia has a history of doing poor-quality road construction. All you have to do is cross the Maryland or North Carolina state lines and the road surfaces are of a much better quality. I think the state uses road repair as an employment booster. I'm from VA originally and live there now. Of the half-dozen states I've lived in and the 39 states I've visited, Virginia's roads rival Alaska's for being the worst.
The whole development issue aside, they need to fix the roads we've got and upgrade the quality before building more substandard highways.
Worse than Pennsylvania?
You've got to be kidding. North Carolina roads are horrible. Maybe they were good at one time, but since we've lived in Virginia, every time we have to travel through North Carolina, hubby complains about the roads. The worst part about living in Virginia is not the quality of the roads but the quantity. Too much traffic!