Virginia Secretary of Transportation Rob Martinez said yesterday that the U.S. Route 501 Regional Coalition and political and business leaders along the Route 501 corridor should endorse a single plan for improvements to Route 501.
He also said that group needs to determine its priority projects and be willing to have the Route 501 improvements, which could cost upwards of $250 million, phased in over a period of time when it makes it pitch to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the Virginia Department of Highways, and the Secretary of Transportation.
"You should prioritize it and phase the project in," Martinez said yesterday during a stopover in Halifax that was part of a Coalition staged bus tour of Route 501 from the North Carolina line through Campbell County and into Rustburg.
"I recommend that you make sure you consolidate your statements for the reallocation hearings this spring and make sure you all say the same thing."
Martinez also said that the Coalition and all of the localities involved should also do that for next year's round of VDOT hearings and hearings with the Secretary of Transportation as well as make sure that their cost figures and statistical information mirror those of VDOT.
"You should also consider phasing in of the projects instead of asking for the entire thing at one time," Martinez suggested.
"If you get the Campbell County or Halifax County Board of Supervisors and they come in and make their presentations and talk about 12 or 14 different projects, forget it. You've missed your opportunity."
The U.S. Route 501 Regional Coalition which includes political, government, and business representatives from Halifax County, Campbell County, Bedford County, and other localities along the Route 501 corridor, is pushing for major improvements of Route 501 from the North Carolina border through Lynchburg to its access with Interstate 81 at Buena Vista for both safety and economic reasons.
The plan being proposed by the coalition shows 38 miles of highway upgrading from the North Carolina border to just south of Rustburg, to be linked by a bypass and existing highway around Lynchburg, to over 13 miles of improvements north of Lynchburg to the James River at Route 130, plus an improvement to the interstate access at Buena Vista.
Part of the plan calls for widening the existing two lane road to a four lane divided highway from South Boston to Lynchburg.
According to the coalition's figures, improving the 23 mile segment from Route 58/360 in Halifax County to Campbell County will cost an estimated $78.3 million. The section Campbell County from Halifax County to South of Route 607 near Winfall at the Route 29 Study Window has a length of 15 miles and an estimated cost of $58.8 million.
The total estimated cost of long range improvements is $137.1 million for a total length of 38 miles.
In its report, the coalition noted that existing Route 501 runs through the central business districts of South Boston, Halifax, and Brookneal and that improving existing roadways in those areas may not be feasible. As a result, bypass alternatives should be considered.
The Halifax County Chamber of Commerce's Senior Executive Roundtable staged the organizational meeting that led to the formation of the coalition in August of 1996. Local members of the regional coalition include Hill Felton, Jr., R.E. "Dickie" Abbott, County Administrator Dan Sleeper, Tom Raab, Jack Dunavant, and Halifax County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Nancy Pool.
Pool said that the representatives of localities along the Route 501 corridor involved in the coalition feel that their chances of persuading state officials to go through with proposed improvements to Route 501 are better if they make a united pitch.
"If we resolve issues within the coalition we stand a better chance of VDOT getting the project expedited."
Del. W.W. "Ted" Bennett, said that forming a regional coalition to support a project such as this "is the only way to go."
"In addition to the big problem of getting money from the state, it is always a local problem of getting an agreement on bypasses. Part of the reason for creating a regional study is to try to get the localities to work out an agreement on the bypasses so it won't be a potential problem when and if the money (for the project) becomes available. That held up the Route 29 improvements for years."
Bennett also pointed out that the next Governor is going to be hit with a major push for highway funds by the second year of his administration.
"There is going to be a big train coming through and I want us to at least be the caboose," Bennett remarked.
"This will give us best chance of getting funding if it occurs."
Abbott says he fully supports the coalition.
"We're going to get more done this way (with a regional approach) than going the other way (with the county making a pitch on its own)," Abbott said.
"We've met on this thing a number of times and everybody seems to cooperate together."
Sen. Charles Hawkins of Chatham, whose 19th District includes a number of localities along the Route 501 corridor in Campbell County, told Martinez that the Route 501 project is vital to the people and industries of the entire region.
"The road system was planned and designed primarily for agricultural use," Hawkins explained while noting that the present road system is not designed to handle heavy use by tractor-trailer rigs.
"What we're looking at now is heavy manufacturing. We're trying to force it to take the heavy truck traffic. We've got to realize that this is no longer a primarily agriculture area. We have to think manufacturing."
Hawkins also pointed out that as a result, it is vital that the localities in the region have good access to the Raleigh-Durham, N.C. and Research Triangle area of North Carolina.
Martinez says that there is a possibility that about $150 million in federal monies for surface transportation may become available to Virginia. There is also a possibility that Congress may recess without reauthorizing federal surface transportation funds.
If the federal bucks do become available, he said, the amount of money that would eventually trickle down and become available to this particular district will be only a modest amount.
Therefore, Martinez pointed out, the coalition should make sure that "all of the jurisdictions are of a mind that the money should be invested in this particular facility."
In addition, Martinez told the group that there may be an increase in the amount of money that the state will allocate to its districts. He said the bulk of that increase could be applied toward the Route 501 improvement project "if all of the districts are comfortable deferring other primary (highway) system projects to the benefit of 501."
Martinez, who is Governor Allen's appointee as Secretary of Transportation, said that the coalition would be wasting its energy in pursuing a National Highway System designation for Route 501.
And, he noted that he doesn't feel that much will come from the Commission On the Future of Transportation In Virginia.
One thing that Martinez did caution the group to watch out for is a reopening of the Reallocation Formula for highway funding.
"If the reallocation formula is reopened, you are going to lose," Martinez stated.
"The best you could hope for is not to lose any money. The only potential that you have is to go down."
By Doug Loftis
If it can be said that the worst is sometimes saved for last, the Route 360 - John Randolph Bridge improvement project in the Town of South Boston and Halifax County may be a hands down winner. In fact, it's been 24 years since the Virginia Department of Transportation held the first location and design public hearing for the project that got stalled because of financial shortfalls.
In distance, the less than two miles of highway represent the only two-lane stretch of Route 360 between here and Richmond; every other mile was long ago four-laned. It will cost an estimated $22.3 million and easily take two years to complete.
While construction is in process, the 8,610 vehicles per day which travel across the half-century old bridge will be detoured over the Dan River via the Tucker Watkins Bridge and into the business district of South Boston on U.S. 501. Two decades from now, that number is expected to triple.
Just north of the John Randolph Bridge stands the battered Vaughan Street bridge overpass. Repeatedly struck by overheight vehicles traveling along Route 360, traffic over the bridge is now being routed to the extreme outer lanes because of structural damage.
While being replaced, the hundreds of vehicles which cross it daily must find access through residential subdivisions along Eastover Drive or Ash Avenue.
As disruptive as it might sound, the proposed construction and right-of-way acquisition will not require the relocation of any families, businesses or nonprofit organizations. Environmentally speaking, the proposed project has been reviewed by federal, state and local officials and is to said to have minimal adverse impact. The same can be said for adverse impact to any historical or archaeological resources.
Enter St. Paschal Catholic Church, located on the east side along the 1.9 mile strip and built about the same time as the highway and John Randolph Bridge. The distance between the asphalt of Route 360 and the church's handicap access ramp was somewhat imposing before 1982 when the church added a 20 foot section on the front.
Knowing that improvement and expansion of the highway would (based on the original 1973 design) take place on the west side, church leaders were apparently comfortable with the addition and after all, it improved access for everyone attending services, especially the physically handicapped.
Not so comfortable with the addition are VDOT officials who say the church handicapped access ramp may actually be sitting on highway right-of-way. They say a minimum 40 foot setback from highway right-of-way is the standard.
South Boston building inspector Ned Ingram said yesterday that there is no set-back standard for commerical buildings and a 25 foot minimum for residential. Saint Paschal church, said Ingram, is situated in a combination zone and before passing judgement on the right or wrong of the 1985 building permit that was issued by his department, he wanted to investigate the particulars.
During last week's location and design public hearing, Saint Paschal Church parishioners, their attorneys including W.W. "Ted" Bennett, Jr. and John Mizell and Greer P. Jackson, Jr., representing the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, expressed concerns over the safety of the new design and asked that it be restudied.
Changing the expansion from the west to the east side was done about a year ago mainly for cost considerations according to Fred Kiiffner, VDOT Location and Design Engineer
The state already owns the right-of-way needed for the new design and to have proceeded with a westward expansion might require the purchase of the Best Western Motel and restaurant, Bridgeview Exxon and as many as five residential properties.
"Let's be fair about this," said Kiiffner, "we're putting the road in a location that requires no more right-of-way." Still, VDOT officials are reconsidering and are preparing an alternative design which he said would be completed within a week.
That new design will address relocating to the west that portion of Rt. 360 near the church while keeping in tact the design as it approaches and passes to the east of the motel and service station.
Kiiffner admits that the present designed improvements pose safety concerns for St. Paschal Roman Catholic Church. "Anybody would be a fool to say it's not!"
Given the added cost of design change would VDOT change its plan? "If it's within reason," Kiifner replied.
You can hear their need in their whining.
You can imagine their loneliness as they puddle themselves in an attempt to find warmth in a cardboard box.
Such was the plight of six baby puppies found Thursday that had been abandoned and left in a greenbox in the northern part of the county.
Two of the puppies didn't survive the weekend. One has reached a point where it will no longer take milk from a bottle and is weakening.
Three others are doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances as they continue to fight for survival.
The fact that four of the puppies have survived this long is a tribute to the efforts of personnel from the Halifax County Humane Society, the staff at Halifax County Veterinary Center, and the caring of an unidentified gentleman who found them.
"We're going to continue to bottle feed them, keep them warm, and try to keep them alive," said Cheryl Jones of the Halifax County Humane Society.
"We're going to try to do everything we can for them."
The little puppies, who appeared to be only hours old at the time, were found by a gentleman when he went to the greenbox. After a series of contacts, the puppies found themselves in the caring hands of the humane society and the veterinarians.
"We didn't get the gentleman's name," said Jones.
"But, we at the Halifax County Humane Society would like to thank that gentleman who cared enough to rescue those puppies. A lot of people would have just turned their backs and left them there to freeze to death overnight."
Dumping animals and leaving them to die is one of the most atrocious forms of animal cruelty, Jones said.
"This dumping of animals has got to stop," Jones said.
"The people of Halifax County need to wake up and recognize that. It's nothing but pure cruelty. This is atrocious. The puppies would never have survived a night if they hadn't been found by someone who cared."
Jones said that the Humane Society is urging pet owners to have their pets spayed and neutered in order to cut down the number of unwanted animals and save other animals from the cruel fate that was handed to these puppies.
Problems such as this plague Halifax County, Jones said, and the Humane Society and other caring individuals in the area are working hard trying to cut down on the number of incidents such as this.
"There's no telling how many animals have died in situations like this," Jones said.
"And, on the other hand, there is no telling how many animals we could save if we could get to them."
Attempts will be made to find good homes for the puppies that survive. Anyone interested in adopting one of the puppies should contact the Halifax County Veterinary Center at 476-2166.
And, anyone interested in making a donation to the Halifax County Humane Society to help defray expenses for the care and placement of neglected animals may send it to the Halifax County Humane Society, P.O. Box 969, South Boston, Va. 24592.
By Bruce Wilkins
Three people will face charges stemming from a severe beating of a student which occurred Monday afternoon on a Halifax County Middle School bus, according to the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Two of the subjects are students, while one was described as an uncle of the two youths, who is in his forties, according to Major Ray Link. The two youths are brothers.
The alleged incident occurred at 4:15 p.m. at a bus stop off Rt. 677 in the Vernon Hill area of the county, police said.
"The victim in this incident was beaten to a pulp," Link said. "Having been a school bus driver back when I was in school, I never, ever heard of anything like this."
The 15-year-old victim was taken to Halifax Regional Hospital for treatment after the fight and was released Tuesday morning, Link added.
"He was severely beaten on the face and other areas of his body," Link said.
One of the two youths facing charges was already suspended from school for a three-day period prior to Monday's incident, according to Dennis Witt, Superintendent of Halifax County Public Schools.
The youth was suspended for an accumulation of disruptive behavioral incidents, culminating on October 16 for being disruptive towards a teacher, Witt added.
His 14-year-old brother had been suspended from school Monday afternoon for attempting to start a fight in the middle school's cafeteria. He also had a history of disruptive behavior and was beginning a three-day suspension when the fight on the bus began, Witt said.
"This is certainly an unfortunate case and we will deal with it firmly and decisively," commented Witt. "I anticipate, with the school board's approval, long term suspension for the two youths (facing charges), as well as a loss of bus riding privileges when they do return."
The incident began after school bus No. 5 left the middle school to transport students to the Pine Ridge Trail (Rt. 677) area of the county, police said.
At one point during the transport, veteran school bus driver Linda Dixon stopped the bus and broke up a fight between a 14-year-old black male juvenile and a 15-year-old white male juvenile, according to the investigation. She put the students at each end of the bus and then continued on her route.
Meanwhile, the bus reached a turnaround point near Womack's Trail just off Rt. 677 when they reached the 14-year-old's home, police said.
At that point, the two youths started fighting again. The 13-year-old brother and the adult approached the bus and tried to enter through the front side doorway.
"The bus driver was holding the door to keep them from entering," Link said. The 13-year-old apparently backed away from the door and the bus driver then went back to separate the other two youths, he added.
Meanwhile, the adult ran to the rear emergency door and attempted to forcibly open the door to join the fight, Link said.
"Some other students - and you know they were terrified - were trying to hold the (emergency) door shut," Link said.
At that point both the 13-year-old and the adult managed to get inside and, along with the 14-year-old, allegedly assaulted the 15-year-old, according to the investigation.
The fight was eventually broken up by Dixon and the three alleged attackers fled. "The mother of the two youths told us that she didn't know where the two youths or the adult were," Link said. As of Tuesday afternoon, no arrests have been made, police said.
No motive was given for the fight, which was termed at this point as an "ongoing" dispute between the 14-year-old and the 15-year-old youths, Link pointed out.
Investigator C.L. Bates of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department stated that the bus driver "handled a bad situation as good as could have been done.
"She even managed to pull the older guy off the youth by grabbing him by his belt," Bates said. "She did a great job and should not be blamed for anything that happened."
Witt agreed. "We would like to commend Ms. Dixon for her actions," he said. "She was professional in her actions and she did a great job in a very trying circumstance."
Juvenile petitions for felonious assault have been filed against the two brothers. The one brother who met the bus at the bus stop will also be charged with trespassing on school property.
Charges against the adult will also be filed pending a further investigation of the incident, Link said.
"This is really an inexcusable situation where we hope justice can swiftly prevail," Link said. "Students like that have absolutely no business being in school, disrupting classes and terrifying other students."
As for the adult who allegedly climbed on the bus and entered the fight, Link was even more adamant about justice. "If found guilty, I hope that the judge will sentence him appropriately and make an example of this individual," Link said.
"Think of the horror those other students went through on that bus," Link reflected. "This should never happen again."