Montgomery County holds VDOT hearing on $825,000 six‑year secondary road plan; resident urges Bobcat Lane priority

Montgomery County, Va. — The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing May 12 on the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) draft six‑year secondary road improvement plan for fiscal years 2026–2031, during which VDOT staff described planned overlays, a forthcoming bridge and pipe work that will require road closures, and an $825,000 county allocation for next year's secondary‑road construction funding.

The hearing matters because the county’s allocation will shape which unpaved and secondary roads receive construction and surface treatment work; VDOT staff said $575,000 of the allocation is currently earmarked for unpaved roads and $250,000 comes from fees collected from utilities and telecommunication locates.

During the presentation, VDOT representative David Clark summarized maintenance and the draft construction priorities, and told the board, "The proposed allocation for next year, that's Montgomery County, is, $825,000, which I think is actually more than it's been in a in a while." Clark outlined draft candidate projects including Taylor Hollow Road, Willis Hollow (off Allegheny Springs Road), Paul School Road and Bobcat Lane. He also warned crews must replace two pipes on Lick Run before a planned surface treatment, which will require a road closure and a long detour on Norris Run; VDOT said it will post message boards well beforehand and coordinate with schools and emergency responders.

Supervisors and staff discussed additional traffic engineering work: Clark said a speed study will be performed for Dry Valley after a sign/limit question, and that a request to extend the speed limit on Childress Road was studied but not recommended. He also reported continued patching and early overlay work on roads including Catawba Road and Mount Tabor.

In public comment, resident Joe Sbarna urged the board to elevate Bobcat Lane on the priority list, citing safety concerns for a school bus that turns there and the road’s relatively high average annual daily traffic (AADT) for its length. Sbarna told the board, "I've seen that bus almost get hit a couple times every morning," and provided photos and AADT comparisons to argue Bobcat Lane is a low‑cost, high‑impact candidate because it is only about 0.4 mile long.

VDOT staff and supervisors repeatedly noted cost and design tradeoffs: Clark offered a rule‑of‑thumb cost of about $1 million per mile for converting an unpaved road to a paved standard and explained VDOT often uses a rural‑rustic design (16‑foot travelway with small shoulders and surface treatment) for low‑volume secondary roads to control cost and limit induced speed increases. He said surface treatment, not full plant‑mix asphalt, is typically used for these rural‑rustic projects and that some short or steep sections require plant‑mix for safety or constructability.

The board did not adopt the six‑year plan at the meeting; Clark said no resolution was needed that night and the county will conduct a field review on June 7 before the board considers a final priority resolution in June. VDOT staff also encouraged citizens to attend a district‑level public hearing in Salem that will cover interstate and other primary projects in the Salem District.

What happens next: the public hearing record closed at the meeting. VDOT will proceed with maintenance work and notify affected residents when Lick Run or other closures are scheduled. The board will receive VDOT’s field‑trip findings and consider a formal resolution on the secondary six‑year plan at a future meeting in June.