PETERSBURG – For the past three years, people who live in the Walnut Hill Gardens neighborhood off South Crater Road have dealt with getting in and out of their area in a roundabout way – and not in a traffic-circle manner, either.
They have, though, had to circle in and out through the adjacent Battlefield Park neighborhood to access southern Petersburg’s major business corridor, one that gives them straight shots to other parts of town.
A bridge carrying Oak Hill Road over a portion of Mill Pond has been closed for the past three years due to a sinkhole. Detour signs re-route residents of Oak Hill Road, Amherst Drive and Meadowview Drive onto Flank Road.
While the city has promised to fix and/or replace that bridge, getting the money for it has been an issue. City Manager March Altman estimates the cost to be around $3.3 million – and it is only going to go up the longer Petersburg waits.
Tuesday night, several Walnut Hill Gardens residents told City Council that enough was enough. They came armed with a simple demand: No more promises, fix the bridge now.
“It’s been three years. Sounds like we really don’t have answers, and it sounds like nothing has really been done,” Oak Hill Road resident Shalonda Wilson said. “I’m just wondering who’s going to hold [the city manager] accountable for staying on top of this.
“We just want it fixed. And we want answers.”
Rashonda Jackson, whose aunt lives on Oak Hill Road, said Walnut Hill Gardens “is an intergenerational, aging community who relies on public services” such as emergency response. Jackson said the detour, though, is more than just a safety hazard.
“It is a reminder every day to the community members that their experiences and what they’re going through don’t matter to their city leaders,” Jackson said. “National politics is not to be followed. At the end of the day, change happens here in those seats that you ran for.”
Calvin Marlow, another Oak Hill Road resident, said for the past year, he has been “making strenuous efforts” to get answers on why the bridge has not been fixed. He took note of some of the looks on councilors’ faces when listening to the previous speakers, as if they were unaware of the situation until it was brought up at the meeting.
“I find it peculiarly strange that no attention has been focused on this until tonight from the council itself when people of the community have showed up,” Marlow said. He also raised questions about the funding Petersburg got from the “Build Back America” federal funding initiative and why part of that was not earmarked for the bridge repair.
“What have you folks done with the money?” Marlow asked. “Where has it gone? Give us some specific answers.”
City: We're looking for funding
The city says issues with funding have hampered progress on not just the Oak Hill Road bridge but also the Lafayette Street bridge that also has been shuttered for a couple of years. Requests for state funding in the 2023 and 2024 General Assembly sessions were unfulfilled, and now officials are working with Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Virginia, on getting some federal dollars earmarked for the bridge work.
McClellan was in Petersburg Wednesday to present a check for $959,000 to help pay for ongoing improvements to the Poor Creek pumping station project in southern Petersburg that includes the construction of a water storage tower. She confirmed she had discussed the bridge issues with Petersburg officials and plans to request funding.
In the meantime, one option Altman told council about Tuesday night was spending $2 million for a temporary crossing on Oak Hill Road that would serve a purpose until the permanent span is built.
“The short-term replacement bridge does not last as long, but it gives us a quicker fix than the long-term,” Mayor Sam Parham told The Progress-Index following Wednesday’s check presentation. “Because of last night, I’m leaning more toward the quicker fix.”
Council does not have a regular meeting again until September, but a special meeting is set for July 30. It’s possible more information about the bridge work could be shared then.
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.
Most Popular
Comments / 0