Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Roads topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wythe County public hearing centers on Crawfish Road repairs; VDOT gives two-section cost estimates
Summary
At a May 13 public hearing on the Virginia Department of Transportation's proposed Secondary Six-Year Plan, residents urged repairs to Crawfish Road; VDOT staff presented cost estimates of $333,121 and $310,340 for two sections and said work would be contingent on property access and environmental measures.
At a May 13, 2025 public hearing, the Wythe County Board of Supervisors heard residents urge repairs to Crawfish Road as Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff reviewed the county's proposed Secondary Six-Year Plan.
Residents told the board the unpaved road produces dust and unsafe driving conditions; VDOT staff offered two cost estimates and said at least one portion of the work would require property access and environmental steps before construction.
Ted Willard Canarazzi, a resident whose family has owned 35 acres along Crawfish Road, said the dust is "just kind of unbearable" and asked the board to put the road back on the plan. "A lot of senior citizens live along that stretch," Canarazzi said during public comment. Another resident, Greg Hammond, described ruts and drainage problems that make travel difficult after storms.
A county staff member and VDOT staff broke Crawfish Road into two sections for planning purposes. The first section, from Route 680 down to a bridge and the narrow approach, was estimated at $333,121 and would require fence relocation, cut slope grading and possibly environmental or structure work that depends on property owner access. The second section, a longer stretch past most residences, was estimated at $310,340 and described as "relatively easy to deal with" though it could require minor property work. Staff said the full road length in county records is about 5.7 miles and the two proposed segments cover the most critical portions identified by residents and staff.
Board supervisors discussed funding options including splitting costs across fiscal years if the board wished to prioritize one section now and fund the remainder later. Supervisor Cherry (see speaker list) said it would be feasible to commit funding for one section now and return the rest to the next year's allocation.
No formal vote was taken on adding the entire road to the six-year plan at the meeting. County staff said they would update the draft plan to remove Racetrack Road and add Crawfish Road's prioritized section, then return the revised plan to the board for action. A staff member told the board, "you do not have to take any action tonight. We'll put those new numbers in and take off the race track resolution and come back to the other resolution."
