On Wednesday, April 11, representatives of the Virginia
Department of Transportation—the state agency whose motto is Oops!—held a design
public hearing at the Centerville Company 3 fire-rescue station. The purpose of
the session was to share information about the planned improvements to the Rt.
288/Broad Street Road interchange and gather resident feedback.
(Please note that the VDOT employees who fix potholes, cut
grass, plow snow, pick up trash, and perform other routine road maintenance and
repair are not part of the “OOPS!”)
Several VDOT representatives were in attendance to discuss
various components of the intersection upgrade. They were very engaging,
polite, and seemed genuinely interested in sharing information. They also
seemed surprised at the skepticism expressed by the people who traverse this
malfunction junction on a regular basis that the proposed upgrades will make
the area safer.
According to an informational brochure distributed at the
event, the project will cost $4.3 million. Construction is expected to begin in
the fall of 2020 with estimated completion in Summer of 2021. The brochure is available
at:http://www.virginiadot.org/Projects/Richmond/asset_upload_file130_122853.pdf
The improvements consist of adding or extending turn and
“storage” lanes and installing traffic signals at intersection points where drivers now play
chicken. To his credit, project manager Adam Brooks said that he drove to the
meeting via northbound Rt. 288 and made
the dreaded left turn onto westbound Broad Street Road. He seemed unaware of
the relatively steep grade of eastbound Broad Street Road under the Rt. 288
overpass, but said he would look at it on his way home.
Brooks also seemed somewhat surprised to learn that locals
take Rt. 288 north to Interstate 64 to the Rockville/Manakin exit to access Broad
Street Road westbound rather than risk the blind left turn. He did say that one of the purposes of the
meeting was to learn how people actually use the roads in question.
 |
| Project Manager Adam Brooks, center, and VDOT engineer, left, listen to Goochlander skeptical about proposed road improvements |
The proposed improvements seem simple and straightforward.
The answer to “why will it take more than three years to complete?”
convoluted. Roadway plans must be
engineered. There were several sets of what looked like detailed plans floating
around the room. It was unclear how much additional refinement is needed before
construction can start. Brooks explained that the improvements are considered
to be a single project and all components will be completed at the same time to
control costs.
Then there are environmental concerns, one of which was
clearing trees. Most of the trees in question are gone, removed to make way for
the new Audi dealer and hotel on both sides of Broad Street Road. Remaining environmental
issues, according to the VDOT rep for this area, are minimal. The brochure
states that it has performed environmental reviews to coordinate with various
federal, state, and local agencies an include information from various
technical reviews including those related to natural resources, water quality,
threatened and endangered species, air quality, noise, etc. Potential effects
on properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places will be provided in the project’s environmental documentation. This all should have been part
of the original construction information. Currently, it would seem that
motorists are the species most endangered.
Rights of way need to be acquired. This could get tricky if property owners balk
at VDOT offers for their land. As most of the new lanes seem to be in the
original footprint of the road, these rights of way should have been acquired when
the roads were first built? Nearly a
year has been allocated for this task. Some utilities may need to be moved and
that will take time also.
The meeting was all too reminiscent of other sessions held
by VDOT before Broad Street Road was widened between Ashland and Manakin Roads.
Those sessions were also filled with detailed diagrams, few of which resembled
the road that was ultimately built.
Mr. Brooks and company were unaware of the design fiasco of
the southbound Manakin Road turn lanes that were too tight to accommodate large
horse trailers and moving vans because a VDOT engineer used the wrong turn
template when designing that project. Brooks did, however, promise that all new
lanes will be able to handle large vehicles.
Maybe this time will be different. Maybe this VDOT team will
under promise and over deliver. No one will complain if the improvements are
completed before the summer of 2021 and make this stretch of road safer. Keep
your fingers crossed and look for alternate routes during construction.
No comments:
Post a Comment