Transportation Issues

Public roads in Hanover County are identified by green street signs, and are maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The County's private roads are identified by brown street signs and are maintained by property owners along the private road. Hanover County helps VDOT prioritize funding programs to widen and improve the road system. VDOT maintains existing road surfaces and roadside ditches, and performs snow removal through its Ashland Residency (804-752-5511). The Public Works Department maintains project status updates and coordinates engineering studies and plans, with the primary contact being Joseph E. Vidunas, Traffic Engineer (804-365-6181). The County's Planning Office maintains adopted road corridor alignment studies that are adopted as part of the transportation component of the Comprehensive Plan; the primary contact is Lee Garman (804-365-6171).

• Secondary Road System
• Primary and Interstate Road System
• Transportation Strategy/Economic Development Strategy
• Traffic signals
• Street signs

Secondary Road System

Secondary roads are public roads with VDOT route numbers of 600 or higher. The Board of Supervisors has the authority to prioritize Secondary Road projects through a public hearing process, which takes place each fall. Approximately $2 million annually is available for Secondary Road construction projects. In 2000, the Board adopted an objective prioritization system for ranking paved Secondary Road projects. The Board also has a Roads Committee which assists in developing recommendations with the transportation systems and planning processes. A goal of the Roads Committee is to develop a similar ranking system for Primary and Interstate roads, private roads (which are eligible for upgrade to public roads through the Rural Road Addition program), and state-maintained gravel roads. Once a project is added to the Secondary Road 6-year plan, approximately 3-5 years is needed to perform survey and engineering design, environmental review, right of way acquisition and utility relocation. Construction may take from 4 months to 3 years, depending on the size and complexity of a project.

Primary and Interstate Road System

Primary Roads are public roads with VDOT route numbers less than 600 (for example, U.S. Route 360). Primary Roads generally are roadways that connect different jurisdictions (U.S. Rt. 360, U.S. Rt. 33, U.S. Rt. 1), or connect other Primary Roads (State Rt. 54). There is no standard annual allocation given to the County for prioritization of primary and interstate road projects. However, in the spring or summer of each year, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) holds public hearings across the state and Hanover County prioritizes projects through a Resolution. The CTB then prioritizes requests through allocations made to the VDOT, Richmond District, and also statewide projects such as interstate highways. In addition to funding allocated through the VDOT CTB, Hanover County receives approximately $2.5 million annually through the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). MPO funding may be used only on projects which are regionally significant (improve intra-jurisdictional travel) or which improve air quality (intersection projects to lessen congestion or alternative transportation projects such as sidewalks, transit, bicycle routes).

Transportation Strategy/Economic Development Strategy

The Board has adopted a Transportation Strategy that defines much of the nomenclature used throughout the transportation planning process. It also contains the full Road Cash Proffer Methodology and Model, which is used to collect cash road proffers from new residential zoning projects. The intent is to assess a one-time cost per residential lot, to contribute to road improvement projects identified as being needed to accommodate projected growth. Most of these projects are in the suburban services area (link to comp plan), but the model looks at all roads in the county in a 20-year build-out plan to assess whether improvement is needed to maintain the existing level of service. Both documents prioritize road projects that create tax-based businesses and jobs. An example of a road project that achieves this goal is the newly constructed North Lakeridge Parkway. This new 4-lane divided road is located just west of the I-95/Lewistown Road Interchange and serves approximately 300 acres of distribution/warehouse type of land use. The road project is funded using 50% developer contributions and 50% Secondary Road funding (Revenue Sharing).

Traffic Signals

VDOT owns and maintains all traffic signals in the County. Specific traffic signal warrants must be met before VDOT will allow a traffic signal to be installed. Usually, additional property (right of way) is needed for traffic signal structures to be installed, and turn lanes are required for a signal to properly function. Therefore, an intersection road project is needed for a traffic signal at the intersection of 2-lane roads. The Pole Green Road/Lee Davis Road Intersection is the most recent project for turn lanes and a traffic signal installation. Engineering design, environmental review and right of way acquisition processes for that $350,000 project took 3 years, which is typical for an intersection project.

Street Signs

The Department of Public Works installs street name signs throughout the County. The Planning Office (804-365-6171) processes requests for street name changes and the Department of Public Works (804-365-6181) processes calls for street sign maintenance or replacement. Traffic control signs (stop signs, state route number signs and other safety warning signs) are maintained by VDOT (804-752-5511). The County relies on citizens to advise when street name signs require maintenance or replacement; the Department usually addresses problems within 30 days of the report. The Department of Public Works encourages citizens to contact it when problems are first observed since the Department does not have resources to perform routine inspection. County standard signs are mounted on 4-inch by 4-inch pressure treated wood posts, with green or brown reflective blades. Non-standard signs are installed in some newer subdivisions and are maintained by the neighborhood associations. However, if the associations do not maintain or replace signs the County will replace with the standard post and blade. Some older subdivisions had non-standard signs and do not have the maintenance agreements in place for replacement. County standard posts and signs will be replaced as these older signs lose their reflectivity or are damaged/stolen.