On March 12, 1904, the General Assembly passed an act providing regulations for the establishment, construction, and improvement of public roads, bridges, wharves, and landings. Previously the county and city governments had enjoyed relative freedom in such matters. The General Assembly passed an act on March 6, 1906, establishing the State Highway Commission and the office of the state highway commissioner to regulate road construction. The State Highway System was created by the General Assembly by an act passed on January 16, 1918.

The State Highway Commission was reconstituted in 1922. The General Assembly passed an act on March 24, 1922, placing the State Highway System under the authority of the commission, which was headed by a chairman who appointed the state highway commissioner. The duties of the commissioner were transferred to the chairman of the State Highway Commission by an act of the General Assembly passed on March 21, 1924, and the office of commissioner was abolished. The state government reorganization act passed by the General Assembly on April 18, 1927, designated the chairman of the State Highway Commission as state highway commissioner and establishd the Dept. of Highways as a state agency. An act passed on April 7, 1974, changed the commission's name to the State Highway and Transportation Commission and the department to the Dept. of Highways and Transportation, adding rail and public transportation to its jurisdiction. In 1985 the commission became the Virginia Highway and Transportation Board and in 1987 the board's name was changed to the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The is board is responsible for locating routes, letting construction contracts, creating traffic regulations, naming highways, gathering and tabulating information and statistics, entering into contracts with other states, and administering and allocating the Transportation Trust Fund. In the 1987 the board's duties were expanded to include the additional responsibility of coordinating the planning for the financing of transportation needs, including the needs for highways, railways, seaports, airports and public transportation.

Highway/Transportation Commissioners include the following: Phillip St. Julien Wilson (1906-1913); George P. Coleman (1913-1923); Henry G. Shirley (1923-1941); James A. Anderson (1941-1957); Samuel D. May (1958-1960); Howard H. Harris (1960-1963); Francis A. Davis (1957, 1963-1964); Douglas B. Fugate (1964-1976); John E. Harwood (1976-1978); Harold C. King (1978-1986); Ray Pethtel (1986-1994); David R. Gehr (1994-1999); Charles D. Nottingham (1999-2002); Philip A. Shucet (2002-2006); David E. Ekern (2006-).

The Department of Transportation is responsible for effecting the policies of the commission with regard to ground transportation and highway planning. The department and the commission were placed under the secretary of transportation and public safety by an act passed by the General Assembly on April 8, 1972. The General Assembly created separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety on April 12, 1976, and placed the department and commission under the secretary of transportation. Effective July 1, 1984, the two secretariats were recombined. The agency is now known as the Virginia Department of Transportation.