- February 24th, 2006, 12:14 am
#5785
ASOR Technical Advisor and Graphics Consultant
http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... ws!laurant
It's almost time for Nelson to stop
the bottom line here is: GREAT- something else to make that hideous stretch of Rt 29 even longer.
It's almost time for Nelson to stop
Darrell Laurantthe size given here (470 acres) can't be right- the whole county?
dlaurant@newsadvance.com
February 23, 2006
LOVINGSTON - You can’t stop progress, we’re told. But what if progress means having to stop?
That’s the situation in Nelson County, which has always billed itself as being one of just a handful of counties in the state (and the only one in Central Virginia) without a stoplight.
True, a blinking light was installed on U.S. 29 near Colleen a few years ago - a direct reaction to a fatal accident that killed a popular high school student - but it only asked drivers to slow down for a couple of hundred yards. What’s currently taking shape above the same highway on the outskirts of Lovingston is the real thing.
“It’s a necessary evil,” said Bernie McGinness, a Shipman resident and a former county supervisor. “You’ve got that shopping center, and all that activity.”
“We’re in the real world now,” county Supervisor Tommy Harvey told the Charlottesville Daily Progress.
Still, the dearth of stoplights in the 470-acre county was always a point of pride for many local residents.
“My daughter went to a private school in Tappahannock,” McGinness said, “and when she told her fellow students that there wasn’t a stoplight in her county, they couldn’t believe it. Of course, a lot of them were from Boston and Atlanta and places like that.
“We do have drinkable water and indoor plumbing, though.”
Ever since the arrival of Wintergreen resort more than three decades ago, Nelson has been straddling the wavy line between rustic hideaway and 21st century tourist magnet, from Walton’s Mountain to wineries. And not having a stoplight helped foster its laidback image in a way even city folks could relate to.
“There were mixed feelings among the people here,” said Mike McCormick, the area engineer for VDOT. “The first time we did a survey, there wasn’t enough traffic flow to warrant a light. The next time, there was. It changed pretty quickly.”
He expects the light to be operational in early to mid-March, when it will become the only pause in the 60-mile plus stretch of U.S. 29 between the northern edge of Madison Heights and Charlottesville. McGinness just hopes it won’t be a sudden stop for anyone.
“They’ve got a 65-mile-an-hour speed limit just outside of Lovingston,” he said, “and then all of a sudden, here’s this light. What worries me is that some of the trucks might wind up running it because they’re going too fast to stop.”
The problem is a burgeoning shopping area at that spot, anchored by a Food Lion and also including a convenience store, a McDonald’s, and several other businesses. Northbound vehicles stopping there then have to cross two lanes of traffic to resume their journey, and they tend to cluster dangerously in the median that separates those lanes, despite a sign that warns “No double stacking.”
“Nobody has gotten killed there yet,” said McGinness, “but we’ve had some near misses.”
That McDonald’s also has the distinction of being the first franchise fast-food outlet in Nelson - another barrier toppled. It remains the only such establishment between Amherst and Charlottesville.
“What we really need to do is work on the whole highway,” said McGinness. “There are sections of 29 that were built in the 1920s. The curves aren’t properly banked in some places.”
Work on the stoplight was stepped up because lack of money caused some other projects to grind to a halt.
“It was originally scheduled for after July 1,” McCormick said, “but we got a window of opportunity.”
The light will cost $130,000, and be augmented by flashing lights on either side to warn unsuspecting motorists. But if you get caught by it, simply glance to the left and right and feast your eyes on the ragged fringe of Blue Ridge mountains enfolding Lovingston. Take a deep breath.
That’s what John-Boy would do.
the bottom line here is: GREAT- something else to make that hideous stretch of Rt 29 even longer.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
ASOR Technical Advisor and Graphics Consultant
- By Chippy