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Board authorizes letter supporting SmartScale Round 7 application for Route 1 corridor project
Summary
The county transportation committee reviewed Round 6 results, noted two successful awards, and the board authorized staff to submit/support a revised SmartScale Round 7 application for Route 1/Rogers Clark Boulevard improvements.
Caroline County’s Transportation Committee reported on its work and upcoming SmartScale opportunities, and the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 14 authorized county staff to submit a SmartScale Round 7 application and asked County Administrator Charles M. Culley Jr. to send a letter of support on the county’s behalf.
JD Young, chair of the county Transportation Committee, summarized the committee’s activities since December 2023, noting the committee reviewed the Ladysmith bike‑and‑ped plan, provided comments on the comprehensive plan’s transportation element, and reviewed potential SmartScale and TAP applications. Young told the board Caroline submitted four SmartScale applications in the prior round totaling roughly $46.3 million in requests; two of those projects were awarded roughly $15 million combined (Young named a $7,085,480 project for intersection improvements at Route 1 at Page and Marie Road and a $9,043,110 turn‑lane improvement at the Lake Caroline entrance).
Kyle Bates (VDOT) and committee members described proposed changes to a previously scored Route 1/Rogers Clark Boulevard pedestrian and turn‑lane project that would reduce cost and improve scoring for Round 7. Bates said VDOT has asked localities to provide early letters of support so engineering work already performed will be used in the application process.
Several supervisors pressed staff about priorities: some expressed concern that pedestrian and safety needs on the Route 207 corridor and at Carmel Church Loop should receive higher priority, while staff and VDOT representatives said the Route 1 project was ready (technical work and studies are in hand) and represents an opportunity to submit a strong competitive application. After discussion, the board moved, seconded and approved authorization for the county administrator to file/endorse the SmartScale Round 7 application for the Route 1 project and to send a letter of support.
The board did not itemize a local match for the application at the meeting; earlier committee materials flagged that the awarded Route 1 projects in the previous round did not include county leverage. The committee also referenced an ongoing STARS study at Exit 110 that is expected to produce additional candidate projects for Round 7.
