MONTGOMERY CO. – Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) David Clarke addressed the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors on road conditions and ongoing maintenance and cleanup in the county during the Monday, May 12 BOS meeting.
A recent winter storm resulting in tree debris continues to be an ongoing cleanup project for VDOT, Clarke said.
“We’ve been on Alleghany Springs Road, Indian Valley, Gold Rush, High Rock Hill, Pilot Road, Lavender Road, Falling Branch Road, most of those in the southern half of the County, which got hit probably harder than the northern part of it,” Clarke said.
Patch work has also been part of the road maintenance VDOT has been performing. Asphalt patching and surface treatment, as well as pipe installation along Lick Run Road, outside of the town of Blacksburg, which Clarke said will be a lengthy job requiring a detour around the road work area.
“Both lines of pipe are over 100 feet,” Clarke said.
Supervisor Anthony Grafsky asked for additional information from Clarke as to where the detour on Lick Run Road would be located and signage expectations. Clake ensured VDOT would do a complete signage display for the detour.
“It’s going to have to go down Norris Run and come back up McCoy,” Clarke said. “I know it gets narrow, and down towards the river on that road.”
Additionally, a speed study will be conducted on Dry Valley Road to determine appropriate speed limits in that area of the county. A request for an extension of the speed limit on Childress Road in Montgomery County was also under consideration. “It was studied under our traffic engineering guidelines, and it was not recommended to change that. So, there’s a couple of updates on the speed limits,” Clarke said.
Grafsky also reminded Clarke of a citizen’s request to look at Old Fort Road, also in the Blacksburg region of the county.
“That’s a speed, and maybe a four-way stop,” Clarke said. “We just don’t have the funds to do a lot of physical means of you know, like you might see in a shopping center parking lot or something like that.”
Clarke said that VDOT would at least follow up on the four-way stop. According to Grafsky, the Sheriff’s office has been monitoring the area.
