State Approves $6 Million Harbor Access Road

Harbor access road will link Stone Road with Old Cape Charles Road. Click on map to view larger image.

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

June 25, 2013

It’s official – VDOT will construct a $6 million harbor access road connecting Stone Road (SR 184) and Old Cape Charles Road (SR 642).

The 1.7-mile connector will intersect Stone Road near the Blue Heron Realty billboard just outside Town limits and run to the entrance to Bayshore Concrete Products.

Cape Charles Town Manager Heather Arcos announced the approval at the June 20 Town Council meeting.

The road is not expected to be complete until 2022 – nine years from now.

Engineering studies are ongoing, and no announcement has been made about possible traffic lights and turning lanes.

The harbor access road will align with Old Cape Charles Road just east of the entrance to Bay Creek golf resort.

Instead of an intersection, Old Cape Charles Road will be closed off at that point. Traffic heading west on Old Cape Charles Road will be routed to a T-intersection with the new road.

Continuing west past the entrance to Bay Creek, the new road will overlap Old Cape Charles Road until the point where Old Cape Charles Road makes a 90-degree right turn toward the Hump.

The access road will then continue straight all the way to the entrance to Bayshore Concrete Products.

CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE

Widening and improving Old Cape Charles Road was long a Northampton County priority, and VDOT had allocated $1.4 million to make it happen.

But on February 21, Cape Charles Town Council passed a resolution urging VDOT to instead construct the access road.

The resolution was similar to one passed by Northampton County at the same time.

There was no public consultation or public hearing, and no map made available until the night the resolution was passed.

Preliminary engineering of the access road is underway now at a cost of $910,000.

Right of way land acquisition is budgeted at $1.3 million, and actual road construction is expected to cost $4.2 million.

According to the concept plan, VDOT will purchase rights-of-way from the Town of Cape Charles, Southport Investors, Sinclair Telecable, and Bay Creek South.

Chief beneficiaries of the access road are Bayshore Concrete Products, Cape Charles Yacht Center, the Coast Guard Station, Bay Creek South, and Wako Chemicals and other tenants at the former Sustainable Technology Industrial Park.

Fishermen will also enjoy a more direct route between Route 13 and the Town Harbor.

Traffic can be expected to be heavier between the Cape Charles traffic light and the turnoff to the harbor access road. From that point, traffic will be reduced in and out of the Cape Charles business district.

Businesses such as Rayfield’s Pharmacy, Shore Treasures convenience store, and the currently-shuttered gas station on Mason Avenue will see a reduction in drive-by traffic.

Currently the majority of cars and trucks traveling from Route 13 to the harbor area enter the business district and then make a 180-degree turn onto the Hump. The alternative, Old Cape Charles Road, is narrow with many dips.

To view a larger image of the left portion of the map, click here.

To view a larger image of the right portion of the map, click here.

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