Hockett Road extension part next

 

Proposed changes (in green) to Hockett Road 

Attendance at a second community meeting about the connection of Ashland and Hockett Roads south of 250 on January 14 was robust in comparison to the first session held last summer. Approximately 65 people showed up at Dover Baptist Church for to chat with VDOT personnel and look at maps of the new road.

The project, which has “been on the books” since about 2013, will bisect land on the southside of Broad Street Road, which has a stub at the traffic signal, to Hockett Road north of Hickory Haven. The latest iteration uses a roundabout to move traffic through the intersection.

Exactly where the connection will be seems to be the “sticking point” that required another public information session. The latest versions are quite similar, the difference being the exact location. The “choice” further from the entrance to Hickory Haven and the Readers Branch flood plain, seems to make the most sense.

As presented, when complete, the new road will have both right and left turn lanes at the intersection of Broad Street and Ashland Road. However, if you are going north on Hockett, why would you travel east and turn left, to essentially backtrack?

The current cost estimate for the project, which will undoubtedly increase thanks to inflation, is $17.6 million for the approximately .5050-mile road and roundabout.  This includes $1.568 million for engineering; $3.394 million for right of way acquisition and utility relocation; and $12.7 million for actual construction. VDOT contends that roundabouts are safer than signalized intersections and keep traffic moving, which is why they are popping up all over central Virginia. The roundabout will have sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. It is unclear who will use those sidewalks.

The project, according to the county website, will relieve congestion at the Hockett and Broad intersection, which will remain signalized and allow crossing Broad as well as left and right turns as it is now.

The new road could make the approximately 28-acre parcel on the south side of Broad at Ashland Road, currently in agricultural use, more attractive to badly needed economic development in Centerville Village.  There have been rumors for decades about possible commercial uses for this site. To date, it rotates crops of corn, soybeans and wheat, which is not the “highest and best use” for this land. Will the new road make that happen?

Goochland is dependent on VDOT for road construction, whose projects move with glacial speed. Next steps include a design public hearing later in 2025, environmental review, and right of way acquisition.  Construction is scheduled to begin in August 2028 with completion in December of 2029.

 

Water, water anywhere?

 

Residents of eastern Goochland who get their water from the Tuckahoe Creek Service District and various other arrangements with Henrico County were under a “boil water advisory” for several days last week.  A catastrophic malfunction in the City of Richmond waterworks left people in the city as well as parts of Henrico and Hanover County without water for days and caused everyone else in the region served by public utilities to boil water or use bottled water.

Goochland, like its neighbors, distributed bottled water to those affected by the situation.

When the “all clear” was given on Saturday afternoon, seems like everyone in eastern Goochland turned on their taps full bore for the recommended ten minutes and soon had little or no water. After Goochland County asked utility customers to refrain from using water for a bit, pressure normalized, and all is well.

The water and sewer service in central Goochland is supplied though partnerships with Department of Corrections facilities and was not involved in the crisis.

Hopefully, Goochland and neighboring jurisdictions are doing after action reviews to prevent a recurrence, and, perhaps more importantly, find better ways to let residents know what’s going on in a timely manner.

The best way to receive important emergency information from Goochland County is the “Code Red” system that sends text and phone messages to participants. If you have not done so, please sign up at https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/1380BACA5A57  to receive alerts and updates.

Reporting on the Richmond water crisis concentrated on what went wrong with the water works and in its utilities department. Little or no mention was made of the impact of the crisis on regional fire hydrants. Given the horrific fires in California whose devastation was exacerbated by waterless fire hydrants, it seems odd that no mention of fire hydrants was included in reporting on the water crisis. Happily, there were no reports of fires during the crisis.

Water supplies to eastern Goochland, parts of which is served by fire hydrants, were good until community wide flushing reduced pressure. The good news is that, because most of the county does not have hydrants, Goochland Fire-Rescue folk have the skill, equipment, and experience to transport water to extinguish fires wherever they may occur.

May 2025 be less weird going forward.