The Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Secondary Six-Year Plan for the county following a public hearing June 11 during the board’s regular June meeting.

Two people spoke during the public hearing, requesting that work be done to address important issues affecting Quail Crossing Road and the people who live on it.

VDOT Resident Engineer Scott Frederick presented the six-year plan for Prince Edward County’s secondary routes prior to the opening of the public hearing.

“We’re slowly trying to turn our gravel or non-hard surface roads into hard surface roads, so we have a six-year plan to accomplish that, and every year, we have to amend the plan to add new roads into Year Six,” he said. “And then it’s like a pipeline — for anyone that doesn’t know — that these roads that we are programming into it are working their way through to get to Year One or Year Zero where we work on them. And I’ve only been at VDOT since April 25, so it was new to me too. That’s why I’m spending so much time explaining it, maybe, for the crowd.”

“So what we’re voting on tonight (after) this public hearing is the work that is really going to take place next year …” he said. “But years two through six, it’s only written on paper, kind of. It can change over time if needs dictate that, so just because it gets voted on tonight doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee.”

But the vote is an important and necessary stepping stone to the work becoming a reality, and Frederick reviewed the plan that was in place as of Tuesday and then what is proposed for Year Six.

“Starting at the top and working our way through, we have Lakeside Road, Green Town Road, Watson Road and Nursery Road,” he said. “And I think up through Watson Road is already completed, and then 661 (Nursery Road) and 613 (Miller Lake Road) are the ones that we’re working on right now, so that’s like this year’s.”

Then he provided information that indicated people living along these roads may not have to wait quite as long as the plan suggests. For example, it listed Miller Lake Road as set to be addressed in 2020.

“That’s the one we’re working on right now,” he said. “I’m hoping to have it done by August.”

Leigh District Supervisor and Vice Chairman Jerry R. Townsend said, “So you’re a little ahead … That’s good.”

Next up will be Dempsey Road, and Frederick estimated work on that road will start next summer.

“Then following that one is Hidden Lake Road, Copper Hill Road, Mill Creek Road, Bolden Flournoy Road, Whispering Woods Road, Schoolhouse Road, Old Oak Road (and) Falkland Road,” Frederick said.

Following this, Frederick addressed Year Six of the plan, starting by mentioning Quail Crossing Road, which is Route 611. He said the section of that road set to be worked on is 0.75 miles from Route 613 to 0.75 miles heading west.

“It sounds like we’ve been doing three quarters of a mile of that road,” he said. “And then also Featherfin Road, Route 625, 0.9 miles from the Appomattox County line, so nine-tenths of a mile on that route. Route 668, Bell Road, 0.3 miles from Route 682 to Route 687, and then the last road that’s proposed is Rice Creek Road, which is Route 647. And on that one it’s 0.3 miles from Route 630 to 0.3 miles east, so three-tenths of a mile on that last route. So that’s the Six-Year Plan.”

Speaking first during the public hearing was Robin Jackson.

“I live on Quail Crossing Road, Route 611,” she said. “Today I brought a petition for that road. I have gotten all the residents signing it. I’ve also been told many times that this has been already in place to be (done), and they don’t know why the road has not been paved. We have so much traffic on our road, it’s crazy.”

She credited VDOT for doing a good job, but she said, “They just can’t keep up with the maintenance on that road.”

When it comes to how the road is addressed, she said she would rather VDOT not put down rocks on the road, citing the effect this can have when driving.

“It is so dangerous,” she said. “Half the time they rock our road, they rock a little bit here or a little bit there. Other times they scrape, and they actually lay the rock.”

She noted that Quail Crossing Road is a cut-through road, referencing traffic that uses the road as a shortcut.

Jackson also questioned the cost effectiveness of working on a road in pieces when it is less than 2 miles long.

She later provided more details on issues facing the road and its residents.

“For a regular rain, it puddles out, and we have to drive through that,” she said. “We also have several tunnels on our road, tree tunnels, which is beautiful, it’s beautiful to drive through it … but it also drops dead limbs. We have a horrible problem with dust, because we have so much traffic. It just billows through the air. And so when we have cars come by, we either dodge for the backyard or come on in. We never get to open our windows — ever.”

She described the unhealthiness of the dust, noting, “It’s basically silica dust.”

“I’m actually in the process of buying a house …,” she said. “We have cleared the land, and I am moving to the back of my property because of the dust. Please do something. We really do need help out here.”

The second speaker was Michael Tatum.

“I live down the road from Robin on Quail Crossing Road, and I’ve been there for 17 years,” he said. “… There’s a lot of issues with the road.”

He referred to pipes under the road, noting that they are “stopped up.”

“I know (VDOT has) got it on the plan,” he said. “They came in and pulled the ditches three years ago, probably going on four years ago, and they didn’t touch the pipes, so that didn’t help anything.”

He also noted the road stays muddy.

Tatum’s main concern involved the frequent lack of emergency access to people along the road.

“If we have a fire, if we have a windstorm or a snowstorm or any hard wind where the trees are, and it’s probably three quarters of a mile on that road, there’s no way the fire department could get to you to put your house out if a tree has fallen across that road,” he said. “And they fall across the road all the time.”

He noted has about 40 years of experience working in fire departments, and he has been a fire chief before as well.

“My main concern is the fire and rescue,” he told the supervisors. “I’m getting old, and if one of you all lived there or live in an area like that, you’d want the fire department or the rescue squad to get to you all.”

After Tatum finished speaking, County Administrator Wade Bartlett directed a question to Frederick: “Can you make sure you all look at those culverts under the (road)?”

“Pipes, yeah,” Frederick replied. “I was thinking that while he was talking …”

“Let us know what you find,” Bartlett said.