Highland County Board of Supervisors May 2023 Meeting – Part 1

The Highland County Board of Supervisors held it’s monthly meeting on May 2.   At the meeting, the Board approved the VDOT Six Year Secondary Road Construction Program and Budget.

Board Chairman David Blanchard explained that there are two projects on the Six Year Plan that they are trying to finish from an original list.  The projects are 2.6 miles of road reconstruction on Route 615, Davis Run Road, and 5.28 miles of road reconstruction on Route 614, Cowpasture River Road.

Alvin Trout, Assistant Resident Engineer with VDOT, reported that the Route 615, Davis Run Road, project is now fully funded and will open in July.   He said there was some surplus funding that was moved to the second project, Route 614.  Work on Route 614 will be done in two phases, with phase one being three miles starting on the south end and moving north.

The public hearing was held on the VDOT Six Year Plan.  Lee Meadows asked questions about funding for the Route 614 project and asked about how the Six Year Plan works.  Board Chairman David Blanchard explained that all the funding comes from the state, at about $122,000 a year, and funding received each year slowly adds up to complete the projects on the list.

Jessy Wilfong also spoke during the public hearing.  She expressed concern about maintenance on Route 614 between now and when the road project is done.  She said the road needs improvement as she has had a flat tire on the road at least five times already this year.  She said others have also had the same experience with flat tires due to the gravel on the road and she feels the situation has gotten worse over the last year.   Wilfong said she has called the local VDOT office and said they are doing a good job on Route 614.  After each call to them she said there is small improvement on the road.  She said finer gravel has been applied, which seems to be holding up better.

Holli McVeigh also spoke during the public hearing.  She asked what prioritized Route 615 over Route 614 on the Six Year Plan.  Alvin Trout said it was a county decision and Chairman Blanchard said the decision was made long ago and it was hard to switch priority on projects while building up the funding.  He said the county has not added new projects to the Six Year Plan, because it has been trying to put all the funding into these two projects.

Alvin Trout also gave an update on VDOT’s plans for primary road maintenance.  Patching is planned in various locations, primarily on Route 220 and some on Route 250.   Paving is planned on Route 220, from north of Route 84 to Monterey.   Paving is also planned in McDowell from Crab Run up to the area of the old dump site.  There was also confirmation that during the upcoming bridge replacement on Blue Grass Valley Road, near New Hampden, there will be a temporary bridge in place for traffic.

To hear more from the Highland County Board of Supervisors May meeting, stay tuned to Allegheny Mountain Radio.