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Each resident of Monroe Church Road came up and said the same thing. They wanted large tractor trailer trucks banned from using the road, because of how small it is. Speaking at a public hearing on Tuesday night, they also asked Prince Edward supervisors to lower the speed limit, so people have to slow down while going around some of the curves. 

Monroe Church Road narrows in places from Reservoir Road to Green Bay Road. It also has several blind curves, making things a problem for anyone biking, walking or even going to check their mail in certain spots. 

“I think that road is too dangerous,” said David Call. He’s lived on Monroe Church Road for five years now and the Rice resident said most days, you’ll find him jogging next to the road. But he pointed out that in places, the road shrinks to 16, 17 feet across. Two large tractor trailer trucks make up 16 feet across between them. What happens when two barely squeak by when driving down the highway? Or what happens when a truck encounters a speeding car, flying around one of the curves in the road? 

“I’m sure a lot more people would walk or bike if this was safer,” Call said. 

Specifically, a ban on “through trucks” was presented to supervisors on Tuesday. It would have included the entire length of Monroe Church Road, starting at its connection with U.S. 460 and running all the way to its southern entrance with Green Bay Road. Residents wanted it and supervisors said they understood the concerns. But there was just one problem: the road didn’t meet state requirements. 

Following VDOT’s rules 

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has some specific requirements before you can ban any type of vehicle from the road. First, the change has to “promote the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth, without creating an undue hardship on any of the users of the transportation system.” 

Supervisor David Emert pointed out that part was a problem. If trucks were banned from using Monroe Church Road, the alternative was to have them travel down Green Bay Road instead. 

“If you come out Green Bay Road to the end and want to go west, you cannot see the eastbound traffic whatsoever (in a tractor trailer),” Emert said. “So if (a truck) pulls into that, you automatically block 100% of the eastbound traffic. You’re automatically causing an undue hardship on truckers, so that negates what we’re trying to do here.” 

Emert, who owns a trucking company, says his vehicles use Monroe Church Road some. It was also brought up that Sandy River Distillery needs to have trucks driving down Monroe Church Road, for product pickup and delivery of supplies. It doesn’t make any sense, Emert argued, to make the trucks drive down Green Bay Road instead and block traffic as they exit onto 460. 

But beyond that, the VDOT guidelines also give criteria to consider when banning vehicles from a road. It’s very specific, saying “the proposed restriction must meet both the first and second criteria in order to be approved.” 

Criteria one asks if a reasonable alternate route is offered. Supervisors argued that no, Green Bay Road didn’t fit that. The second criteria asks if the “character and frequency of the truck traffic is not compatible with the affected area.” Supervisors couldn’t agree on that one either. 

Alternatives for Monroe Church Road

As a result, supervisors unanimously agreed to delay any request to ban vehicles from Monroe Church Road. Instead, they want to wait until VDOT engineer Scott Frederick comes back with more information. He’s currently working on getting approval for a full speed study. 

Previously, the speed limit on Monroe Church Road was 45 mph for trucks and 55 mph for cars. Now it’s temporarily at 35 mph. Residents would like to see it go even lower. To get that permanently reduced, VDOT officials decide if the area merits a full study. 

For example, this is actually the second time Prince Edward officials have asked for a speed study. The first request in 2021 was shot down by VDOT officials in Richmond, who decided Monroe Church Road was fine as is. And so, Frederick is trying something different this time around. 

This time, he’s asking the state to consider Monroe Church Road as part of the “rural rustic road” program. Created in 2002, the Rural Rustic Road (RRR) concept was set up by the General Assembly as a way to classify and pave rural, low traffic roads. It’s basically taking the rural roads of the Commonwealth and putting them into one group, to draw from a specific pot of money.

But there’s another benefit, one that directly impacts Monroe Church Road. During its 2008 session, the Assembly added another rule. In order to be part of the RRR project, a road can’t have a speed limit higher than 35 mph. And so, the speed limit is set at 35 mph while VDOT considers a full study.

Brian Carlton is the regional editor for the Farmville Herald, the Charlotte Gazette and the Kenbridge Victoria Dispatch. He can be reached at brian.carlton@farmvilleherald.com.