(Chatham) — The state is giving a preliminary thumbs-up to adding a pair of Pittsylvania County road improvements to their funding list.
The Smart Scale Program invests in projects that meet critical transportation needs. The County and the West Piedmont Planning District Commission submitted pre-applications for two Projects. The Department of transportation says both qualify for Smart Scale.
The first project would reconfigure the interchange at Danville Expressway and Oak Ridge Farms Road to a Diverging Diamond Interchange. Planners say that will help move traffic into and out of the Berry Hill Mega Park. That would govern traffic on Route 58 and Route 311, Berry Hill Road.
Area economic developers say the connector road will improve mobility and safety on Route 58 and reduce travel times for employees and vendors who will need access to the Megasite. The Metropolitan Planning Organization says the project is needed to accommodate the extra traffic that will be generated once the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill lands a major client.
In a national study, the “Diverging Diamond Interchange” design reduced crashes by an average of 37% after it was constructed at 26 interchanges across the United States. The design also reduced injury and fatal crashes by an average of 54%. That’s according to a 2019 article published in the Transportation Research Record.
The other project calls for the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Orphanage Road and Franklin Turnpike at the Danville city limits. That plan also includes pedestrian signals and crosswalks, a southbound right turn lane, eastbound left turn lane, and a westbound left turn lane.
Earlier this year, Pittsylvania County officials were exploring the possibilities of a roundabout at that intersection as part of a larger study of traffic safety along the Franklin Turnpike corridor from the city limits to Twin Springs Elementary School.
The county will send applications to put these projects on the state funding list. Those applications have to be sent to Richmond by August 2.