Work continues on Route 60 intersection in Buckingham

Does the intersection of Route 60 and Route 632 need a caution light? Buckingham County Supervisor Cameron Gilliam proposed the idea during the board’s Monday, July 8 meeting. Complementing VDOT Scott Frederick and the work that crews have done on the area over the last two months, Gilliam asked what it would take to possibly get a blinking light.

“They would study to see if it’s warranted,” Frederick said, speaking about VDOT officials. “And if it’s warranted, the cost wouldn’t be considered. It would be something the budget would allow for.”

Frederick told the board he would talk with VDOT’s traffic engineering section about it and see if they can get a study done.

Work continues on Route 60 intersection

Last year, VDOT put a sign up, warning people as they approached the intersection. The data shows as long as they paid attention, it was ok. One Route 60 crash last year was a resident who admitted to being distracted. Another was a teen driver, who admitted to being not focused on the road.

In June, VDOT started a project to throw “the kitchen sink” at that intersection, as Frederick told supervisors. First, VDOT workers obtained the easements and started clearing the right shoulder on both approaches to Route 60. The goal here is for people to never have to worry about tree branches blocking the view again.

The second step was installing stop signs at all approaches. And these signs, including the one ignored in Sunday’s accident, are oversize, a 48 x 48 design. The signs were also installed closer to the shoulder of Route 632. Step three involved VDOT workers adding transverse rumble strips on each approach.

Blue Rock Resources has also helped the project, as the company donated 15 feet of additional easement area on both approaches to Route 60. That let VDOT cut the brush further back. Now drivers can see the stop signs from much farther back, as well as more of the road in all directions.

The final part of the project involves VDOT hiring a contractor to come in and trim four remaining trees. The power lines in the area made it so work crews were leery about trying to cut them down on their own. Instead, VDOT is hiring a specialist group to tackle the problem. That’s not going to happen immediately, however. Frederick said the group has a work order system to get projects done and there are a few others ahead of this one. He added that it could be a month or so before that final piece gets finished.

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