Cumberland County reviews VDOT secondary six-year plan with about $300,000 available for road additions

Cumberland County supervisors heard a presentation from Virginia Department of Transportation staff during a work session about updating the county’s Secondary Six-Year Plan, which currently shows roughly $300,000 available in fiscal years 2030 and 2031 that could be used to add about 1.4 miles of gravel road to the plan.

The briefing explained eligibility rules, estimated costs and the next steps in the county’s schedule: staff will prepare a draft list for a public hearing next month and, absent public objections, the board could adopt a resolution the following month. "This current plan shows approximately $300,000 available to Cumberland County," said Brian Walker, VDOT representative, describing the draft figures for FY2030 and FY2031.

Why it matters: the Secondary Six-Year Plan is the county’s primary way to obtain VDOT funding for upgrading eligible secondary roads from gravel to a higher standard. Adding roads to the plan creates a pipeline for construction funding but does not itself authorize construction; specific projects are scheduled and funded according to the plan and later project programming decisions.

VDOT staff said the county has discretion to add or not add roads to the plan. Walker said eligibility for adding a road requires the roadway be unpaved and carry 50 or more vehicles per day. He gave the county an approximate planning cost of about $218,000 per mile for the FY2030–FY2031 window, a figure that reflects historical averages and VDOT’s inflation estimates. "The eligibility for adding a road to the plan is 50 vehicles a day or more, and the road has to be gravel," Walker said.

Staff described how allocations are determined: dollars are apportioned among counties based on route miles and the mix of paved and unpaved mileage. The presentation included two handouts — one listing roads eligible for addition and another showing the draft FY2026–FY2031 plan with prioritized projects. VDOT staff said some line items in the draft are reserved for miscellaneous county work and that funds listed for FY2030 and FY2031 could be held until the county schedules the work.

Supervisors asked several clarifying questions. They requested a clearer mileage column on the spreadsheet showing total unpaved miles for each candidate road, asked VDOT to flag sections where paved segments leave gaps in coverage, and sought confirmation about how split allocations across fiscal years would be handled. Walker said projects that begin in one fiscal year can be finished in the next if funding is split across years. Board members also asked about specific roads on the list, including Briar Creek Road and a gravel segment noted as Range Tavern; staff said they would verify which segments are state-maintained gravel and which are plant-mix pavement maintained by other jurisdictions.

VDOT recommended prioritizing higher‑volume routes and then working down the list. The board asked staff to circulate an updated spreadsheet with total mileages and to return with a draft plan for the public hearing. "You don't have to add anything," Walker said, noting the county can choose to leave the allotment unused.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of consent agenda (procedural): motion and second recorded; roll-call votes in the transcript show votes of "Aye" from several supervisors and the chair. Outcome: approved.

What’s next: VDOT staff will prepare a draft updated Secondary Six-Year Plan and provide a revised spreadsheet with clearer total-mileage figures. The draft will be presented at a public hearing next month; if there are no comments, the board would consider adopting a resolution at a subsequent meeting to finalize additions to the plan.