Transportation workshop

 

Goochland supervisors held a quarterly transportation workshop before their September 3 meeting to inform the board about the progress of ongoing road improvements and gather input going forward.

Sadly, this was the last such workshop for Austin Goyne, who organized oversight of county roads into one department and helped the county secure funding for needed improvements. He is leaving Goochland County at the end of October for greener pastures in the private sector. We thank him for his fine work and wish him all the best. This is the latest departure of a valued county employee. No word on who will succeed Goyne.

The session discussed a number of items, a few discussed below. A recording is available at: https://goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/314088 .

Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1242/Transportation for a detailed look at projects in the works. There are quite a few, most of which are complicated.

The first item on the agenda was an update on the diverging diamond project at the I64-Ashland Road interchange. Field studies and geotechnical borings, the first step in the preliminary engineering phase of the project, which includes construction of a second two lane bridge over the interstate, were performed in August.

Improvements to Bennington Road, which is on the east side of Ashland Road, just north of I64, are projected to include its extension parallel to Asland Road, north to a hopefully signalized intersection to align with the entrance to the Martin Marietta quarry. This will ease bottlenecks caused by vehicles exiting Bennington Road making left turns and could open land east of Ashland Road for economic development. The existing park and ride will be moved south of I-64 on the west side of Ashland Road. The cost of the Bennington Road, it will not be part of the diverging diamond funding, was estimated at $12 million, whose source was not identified.

The roundabout at the westbound I64 ramp at Oilville Road was discussed. Goyne explained, in response to citizen contention that a timed traffic signal there would be a simpler solution, that the results of a VDOT traffic study indicate that the volume of traffic—typically done over a 24-hour period—does not “warrant” a signal.  Goyne explained that signalization is warranted when roughly equal volumes of traffic enter an intersection from all directions most of the time, rather than the one-way periodic congestion. VDOT’s preferred solution to mitigate this kind of congestion is installation of a roundabout. Goyne said that the roundabout will be designed to accommodate the turning movements of 67-foot-long tractor trailers typical on interstates.

Preliminary Oilville Road/I64 roundabout (Goochland County image)

The safety study for Rockville Road south of I64 was next up.  Results of the study from Ashland Road to the Hanover line, last done in 2016, are expected in late October. Line of site, speeding, and conditions at the entrances to Tuckahoe Bridge North (TBN), a new subdivision under construction, will be its focus. Data obtained from the Sheriff’s Office shows that the average speed at the TBN entrance was 42 miles per hour. Goyne reported that 85 percent of vehicles on the road traveled at that speed or slower. The peak speed recorded was 74 mph.  

All TBN traffic uses a single access point on Rockville Road, where there have already been serious crashes due to its location at the top of a blind hill. The entrance was modified to restrict left turns onto Rockville Road because it is at the top of a blind hill. To further complicate matters, school buses will not enter TBN because dumpsters and construction equipment block the roads. A parent attended the meeting and said that the lack of a bus stop in TBN forces him to drive his elementary school aged children to the dead end on St. Matthew’s Lane to catch the bus. He worried that older students might walk along the narrow road to catch the bus. The school division is responsible for bus routes, the county has no say in the matter, but this must be resolved.

 As an application for subdivision on 136 acres just north of TBN festers in the rezoning process, greater care must be taken during the approval and design of new communities to enhance safety, including ample line of sight, signage warning of vehicle entering the road, and reduced speeds. New residents with school-aged children must have a reasonable expectation of a safe school bus stop close to their homes.