(Chatham) — Local leaders are looking to add three Pittsylvania County roads to the state’s secondary six-year plan for unpaved roads.
The Rural Rustic Roads program targets gravel and dirt roads that have a steady amount of traffic. Local V-DOT engineer Jay Craddock says there’s $756,000 in the budget. “That’s enough money to do between 3.6 and 3.8 miles of roadway,” Craddock told the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. “Right now the cost is about $200,000 per mile.”
Craddock is recommending the county add three roads, starting with Dairy View Road in Kentuck. “That’s the unpaved road with the highest traffic count in Pittsylvania County,” Craddock noted.
The second road would be Rockcreek Road, State Road 781. “That’s sort of a cut-through road in the northwest corner of the county connecting State Route 40 with Museville Road,” Craddock added.
The third road on the list is Midway Road near Gretna. “That’s a cut-through road connecting State Route 40 with Deer View Road in the Sandy Level area,” Craddock said.
Those roads have been requested by citizens over the years. If the Board wants to add more roads, Craddock says the list will have to be adjusted to remain within funding limits. “As the years progress and we see how much money we have left over, we can narrow it down,” Craddock added.
And once these roads are paved, Craddock says there’s plenty more in the queue. “There’s about 140 miles of unpaved roads in Pittsylvania County that are state-maintained,” Craddock told Supervisors. “And some of them have been waiting in line for years.”
The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the three proposed roads during the May 21 Board meeting. They’ll then vote to add the roads. If added, work on these roads would begin in 2029.
(Photo is on Dairy Creek Road)