Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC) Executive Director Melody Foster described accompanying representatives from the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to get a firsthand look at road projects in Prince Edward and Buckingham counties that were previously unsuccessful for state funding.

Foster said the ride-along day event took place May 16. Those participating included Foster, Prince Edward County Administrator Wade Bartlett, Farmville Public Works Manager Robin Atkins, Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jim Wilck, Farmville VDOT Resident Administrator Scott Frederick and Lynchburg VDOT Planning District Manager Rick Youngblood.

Representatives explored a possible interchange at U.S. Route 460 at the east side of the Town of Farmville, the intersection of Route 133, College Road and Route 665, Abilene Road in Prince Edward County by Hampden-Sydney College, and the intersection of U.S. Route 15 and Route 617, Gravel Hill Road, in Buckingham County.

All three projects had been submitted previously for funding but were not successful, Foster said. She said the hope is to resubmit those projects in the next round of VDOT Smart Scale Applications in the summer of 2020.

Foster said they didn’t have time to visit all of the road sites that need work, but tried to visit as many as they could. She noted that they plan the tours in order to have county officials, VDOT and CTB representatives see the issues firsthand.

“It really helps when they see them firsthand,” Foster said about the road projects. She said it was one thing for representatives to read or hear about a project, but seeing the project face to face offers more insight.

Concerning the U.S. Route 460 interchange, there is currently no access point further west to reach places like Lynchburg except to drive through downtown Farmville. This can pose challenges for vehicles, especially for semi tractor-trailers, and pedestrians walking through downtown Farmville.

About the Route 133/665 intersection, Foster said, “the line of sight there is terrible, so there are a lot of accidents. We took them in from both directions and you could see how horrible it is sometimes to make that turn, and there’s a lot of traffic. ”

The potential plan for the Buckingham Route 15/617 intersection would be to install a turn lane to improve safety at the intersection.

“While you were there, you saw how many people entered that intersection,” Foster said, noting that there is a dumpsite at that intersection.

She said there was car after car turning off the intersection in the early afternoon.

“In the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, that tells you how much traffic there was,” Foster said.

In a description of the program provided by Foster on June 5, Foster said the ride-along tour is successful for the county and for the representatives of CTB and VDOT.

“It allows the CTB Member to see with their own eyes the issues/needs for the project and allows them time to ask questions of the locals and also have VDOT knowledge available to them as well,” Foster said. “CTB members then have this knowledge and lasting visual available to them when the time comes for funding consideration.”