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.