Patrick County supervisors back VDOT process to abandon short segment of Dogwood Road near Patrick Springs school

Patrick County supervisors voted to adopt a resolution supporting the Virginia Department of Transportation’s process to discontinue a 0.06-mile segment of Route 694 (Dogwood Road) near Patrick Springs, acting on a request from the Patrick County Board of Supervisors on behalf of the Patrick County School Board. The action followed a public hearing at which residents, school officials and VDOT engineers described safety alternatives and competing impacts.

The vote came after more than an hour of presentations and public comment. VDOT staff outlined three alternatives under consideration: improving the curb/turn geometry at the Crossover/Abraham Penn intersections; installing a 22-foot “speed table” shown to “slow vehicles down between 9 and 10 miles an hour”; and adding push‑button rapid‑flashing beacons plus sidewalk extensions so students can walk to school on continuous sidewalks.

The issue drew a large turnout from the Mayo River District and others. Resident Ed Anthony, who said he had collected a petition opposing the closure, told the board, “We have 460 signatures” opposed to abandoning the road. Joy Anthony Branham, who said she graduated from the local school, urged the board not to close the road and said, “There has never once been a child hit by a car crossing that road.” Several other speakers favored engineering fixes and active traffic enforcement rather than closure.

School‑board member Walter Scott urged supervisors to act on the board’s request and cited funding: “We are very grateful for VDOT fully funding this project. No local tax dollars,” he said, noting the school board’s safety concerns. Other residents raised practical challenges: tractor‑trailers and logging trucks likely would not be able to make some detour turns, bus routing and parent drop‑off patterns would change, and some speakers said landowners reported not receiving notice.

Board discussion touched on sight distance, right‑of‑way limits and whether Crossover Road would be renamed or renumbered (VDOT said it may renumber addresses but would not rename the road). County staff and VDOT said many improvements could be made within the existing right‑of‑way. VDOT traffic counts provided in the meeting packet showed daily counts of 431 on John Wood (a nearby segment) and 78 on Crossover.

After public comment, Supervisor Marshall moved to adopt a resolution supporting VDOT to begin the abandonment process of the Dogwood Road segment as requested by the school board. The motion was seconded; voting ultimately recorded three yes votes, one no vote and one abstention, and the chair declared the motion passed. The board did not adopt any engineering requirement as a condition of that support; VDOT and county staff indicated they would present alternatives and additional plans to the board going forward.

The discussion flagged several outstanding issues for follow up: how buses and farm equipment would navigate proposed detours, potential address/renumbering impacts on residents, and whether additional traffic calming measures (radar speed devices, flashing beacons or crossing gates) could be implemented instead of a closure. Several residents asked for further study and additional outreach; VDOT staff said they would provide alternatives and additional engineering details at a later date.

The board’s resolution initiates the VDOT discontinuance/abandonment process; it does not by itself change ownership or immediately close the road. Supervisors, VDOT and the school board left open further review of design alternatives and next steps that will determine whether and when the segment is physically closed or modified.