Stafford leaders press VDOT on road safety and maintenance issues

Nearly 2,500 work orders have been put into the Virginia Department of Transportation area headquarters in Stafford County since the start of the year. Of those work orders, only about 50% have been addressed and closed. 

Resident complaints have funneled their way to the Board of Supervisors with groups like Changing Stafford Roads, a student-run organization formed after 17-year-old Helen Wang died attempting a blind turn on Kellogg Mill Road at Abel Lake, making noise about poor road conditions in Stafford. 

The Board met with VDOT on July 2 to address road safety and maintenance issues. 

“In urban areas, we’re way more reactive than we are proactive,” Fredericksburg District Engineer Marcie Parker said. “We are trying to figure out how to become more proactive, but that takes resources.”

VDOT has identified $148 million worth of road widening safety projects at Kellogg Mill, Mountain View, Poplar, Shelton Shop, and Winding Creek/Ramoth Church. All are narrow, two-lane roads, commonplace in Stafford County.

Other solutions to fix short-term overgrowth include the possibility of financing additional mowing on the sides of the road and/or the application of brush control spray. 

The brush control spray costs $250 per mile and is effective on grass and bushes less than six inches in diameter. It would have to be applied in September or later as the spray cannot be used in temperatures over 85 degrees. 

As for the day-to-day work, there are two area headquarters, each with 12 operators, that are in charge of maintaining over 1,600 lane miles across Stafford. These headquarters address maintenance issues, traffic control, and severe weather. 

“I think for this area, in Stafford and Spotsylvania, has the least amount of crewmembers to the number of roads,” Parker said. “When you get to the more rural counties, there are not as many roads, and the crews are about the same size.”

The number of operators was assigned based upon snow emergency response needs. In more urban counties like Stafford, contractors help supplement the imbalance of maintenance workers.

Potholes are the most frequently reported problem. There are two ways to report an issue: call the customer service system at 1-800-367-7623 or go to the website at my.vdot.virginia.gov. 

One main issue overall that VDOT addressed was the need to emphasize the importance of safe driving to students. Currently, students and their parents have to go to a Partners for Safe Teen Driving after-school meeting before obtaining a license.

“If I were you [VDOT], I would ask the schools if there is anything you can do to participate in the programs,” Committee Chairman Mark Dudenhefer said.