#14 Story
INTERSECTION: What the . . . ???

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

May 11, 2015

Resembling ancient symbols in the sand, the array of lines at right depicts a proposed Los Angeles-style reworking of the intersection of Stone Road and Route 13 — Cape Charles’s only traffic light (at the sign of the “S”).

Northampton Supervisor Granville Hogg dubs it “a million-dollar fix for a hundred-dollar problem.”

The red lines show the existing Route 13 including ramps to Stone Road and S. Bayside Road. The yellow lines show a proposed Route 13 relocated to the west with two half-cloverleaf interchanges. The dotted yellow lines signify bridges over Stone Road and the railroad tracks.

VDOT will be in attendance at the Tuesday, May 12, Board of Supervisors meeting, where public input may be voiced at the 7 p.m. session.

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26 Responses to “#14 Story
INTERSECTION: What the . . . ???”

  1. Katherine Campbell on May 11th, 2015 7:44 am

    If built, this bypass would adversely affect Cape Charles. Travelers stopped at the existing traffic light can see banners promoting town activities snd festivals, giving them a reason to stop and visit or plan s future visit. Whizzing by on an overpass eliminates that opportunity. It flies in the face of the slower pace that is a main attraction for tourists. Does VDOT really think that light stops traffic to the point that it needs such a major upgrade. The light only lasts a minute or two

  2. Jon & Honey Moore on May 11th, 2015 8:41 am

    This is crazy!!!!!! Who is going to profit? Follow the money on this one!

  3. Tivo Romero on May 11th, 2015 9:32 am

    When HWY 13 was intially conceived, they wanted to build a limited access interstate the entire length of the shore. This would have divided the shore more than it already is and devastated towns. Cape Charles and the whole shore is finally seeing a resurgence in growth, due in large part to the quaint, small town atmosphere that the shore has. Traffic jams are not ever an issue on the shore. For the 4 months that we have heavy tourist traffic, the current configuration rarely sees traffic more than 7 or 8 cars deep and never do you have to wait for a second light. The remainder of the year, this would hugely inconvenience the local residents. This isn’t even a $100 problem. There are so many more critical areas in the state transportation system for VDOT to spend this money that would help local economies instead of devastating them. Please urge VDOT to abandon this idea.

  4. Gwyn Coghill on May 11th, 2015 9:47 am

    And we’re building bridges over the railroad tracks for what reason? Do we really have enough rail traffic to justify that? Didn’t VDOT just spend $250,000 to replace the traffic lights at the Cape Charles intersection? Didn’t they also just replace the railroad arms and lights? I just don’t get it. I guess we have more money than brains and common sense on this one!

  5. Steve Downs on May 11th, 2015 10:20 am

    WHY?? During the busiest time of the year I have never seen more than 10-15 cars at the traffic light. If VDOT wants to speed up the flow of traffic in the vicinity, get rid of the light at Cheriton.

  6. David Gay on May 11th, 2015 10:25 am

    Why hasn’t the town repaired Plum Street in front of the public bathroom in the park? This street was torn up two years ago and has not been properly repaired. The town should not take on a project unless it can do the job right. Now if VDOT has so much money to spend the town should have them fix the street. The loose gravel and potholes are a lawsuit waiting to happen.

  7. Janet Sturgis on May 11th, 2015 10:47 am

    Lte me get this straight. There were not enough funds to keep 13 and our major secondary roads free of ice and snow the last couple of winters, but VDOT has the funding to squander on a probkem that does not exist. If the Sate wants to spend money here, I can think of a few more productive constructive ways to do so.

  8. Bobby Roberts on May 11th, 2015 12:16 pm

    Agree with the Moores’ comment above. This mess looks like the solution to a problem nobody’s talking about yet. Looks like someone’s going to benefit big time from this high priced project. Who???

  9. Bruce Killmon on May 11th, 2015 12:17 pm

    Seems to me this is another great waste of money like the Tasley roundabout.

  10. Mike Kuzma on May 11th, 2015 12:51 pm

    This is what happens when one gives Big (Far away) Government absolute control over local matters. A Citizen soon becomes a Subject, subject to the whims of unelected bureaucrats. THIS is what you get when you give your freedoms and liberty away.

    Mr. Gay, local roads are outside of the Jurisdiction, Maintenance and Control of State DOT’s. Plum street is a local road, and money used to, say, buy a bunch of lots or buy up a bank building (removing ratables from the main business district) should have been allocated for that purpose.

  11. David Gay on May 11th, 2015 2:46 pm

    That’s interesting Mike. When I asked town officials when the street would be repaired a year ago they said VDOT maintained the streets in Cape Charles. Sounds like everyone is passing the buck.

  12. RH Meyers on May 11th, 2015 2:54 pm

    I believe that none of the above commentators realize that the VDOT proposal has nothing to do with solving high traffic flow at the CC light. VDOT’s proposal is a response to a petition with over a hundred signatures on it to solve the dangerous crossover at US13 between McDonald’s and the ice house on the west side of US13. Vehicles of all sizes, but particularly 18 wheelers and vehicles pulling boats coming from Food Lion/McDonalds then turning left going southbound will sometimes block both northbound lanes before they can get all the way into the southbound lanes. There have been many accidents in this area and continuous near misses.

    VDOT’s response is to resurrect an old proposal from about 2002 that was deemed at that time to be a total waste of tax money. I can only guess they are doing this to create an outrage, as seen above, against their “Los Angeles” freeway intersection so they will be able to say “See, the citizens don’t want the problem solved” and then ignore the entire situation.

    The simple solution proposed to VDOT at several meetings with the community & organized by Senator Lynwoood Lewis, solely to discuss this problem and find a solution, is to make a short connection north out of the Food Lion lot onto S. Bayside Rd. (the road coming from Cheriton) so that long vehicles can use the traffic light for their left turns going southbound AND closing the dangerous crossover. Part of the land to accomplish this even belongs to VDOT. But, it seems, since they did not think up the simple solution they are presenting an “IN YOUR FACE SOLUTION’ hoping VDOT can just walk away after protest.

    It is an ingenious political maneuver by a group of idiotic bureaucrats whose interest seems to be more concentrated on wasting our tax money and collecting their paychecks than actually solving the traffic problems for which we citizens pay a significant amount of taxes for them to accomplish.

    If any of you want to protest this insanity, just do it accurately and for the correct reason. It deserves a first class blown “RASPBERRY” followed by loud “BOOS”!

  13. Jonny Stevensonn on May 11th, 2015 4:37 pm

    Gee, I thought it might have something to do with the new road going in to town and ending up at the public boat ramp. Still, it’s insane.

  14. Barry Truitt on May 11th, 2015 8:59 pm

    It’s going to cost way more than a million!

  15. Dana Lascu on May 11th, 2015 8:59 pm

    Looks like a Formula 1 race track.

  16. Stephen Fox on May 12th, 2015 6:36 am

    Mr. Kuzma is incorrect in stating that local roads are outside of VDOT’s control. All public streets in Cape Charles and Northampton County are maintained by VDOT. Central maintenance is a result of the Byrd Act (cir. 1933). New subdivision streets are constructed to VDOT standards for the objective of turning them over to VDOT for maintenance.

  17. Phil Goetkin on May 12th, 2015 7:23 am

    If the state of Virginia has this much money to put into a Cape Charles transportation project, I would rather see it reallocated into a town sidewalk plan. With the same amount of financing, the Town could implement a comprehensive sidewalk plan. Cape Charles could make itself a model “walkable town”. Needed repairs could be made; new sidewalks could be installed where they are absent.

  18. Roberta Kellam on May 12th, 2015 9:17 am

    VDOT should install a traffic signal at the Food Lion entrance.

  19. Wendy Martin on May 12th, 2015 9:41 am

    Apparently VDOT had their spectacles on upside down.

  20. Jack Demamp on May 12th, 2015 11:02 am

    Phil Goetkin, what you speak of has already happened (repairing existing) and is currently happening (new walking trail)

  21. Mike Kuzma on May 12th, 2015 3:08 pm

    I stand corrected, Mr. Fox.
    It seems that Virginia looooong ago ceded power to the solons in Richmond.
    How sad that y’all have to stand hat in hand and beg for road work to be done all while NOVA gets whatever they want.
    For all everyone picks on Jersey, at least local municipalities can plot their own future.

  22. Peter Simpson on May 13th, 2015 3:10 pm

    I agree completely with RH Meyers!

  23. Larry Darby on May 16th, 2015 11:36 am

    I agree with Ms. Campbell. I visit The Shore two or three times a year as a tourist and this interstate highway type interchange would just remind me of what I come over there to escape. This belongs on the south end of the bridge tunnel along with the beach stacked with houses. Could the chicken factory guys be behind this proposal? I guess every second of transporting those nuggets is big bucks to them.

    I know there have been very bad accidents at this location. But maybe there are less visually intrusive and less expensive ways to address it. Mr. Meyers’ idea for an exit /entrance at the north end of the Food Lion parking lot sounds worth examining. I use the crossover but maybe it must be closed as he suggests. Or VDOT could post the crossover as not for vehicles towing trailers? That could be a revenue generator for the local police too. Say, a hundred bucks per crossing.

  24. David Kabler on May 16th, 2015 1:20 pm

    When the purveyors of the rezoning proposal get their way, count on more traffic lights on rt. 13, more accidents, slower traffic, and the need to build a limited access thoroughfare. As an added bonus we’ll get chicken farms out the wazoo, sprawling PUD communities, waste incinerators, polluted creeks, crashing aquaculture and a much simpler ordinance to make life for developers way easier. Thanks, Bill Parr!

  25. Tony Sacco on May 18th, 2015 7:12 am

    [On a somewhat related subject], why has VDOT failed to post signs on Route 13 saying USE LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY.

  26. Cindy Waldo on May 18th, 2015 7:39 am

    I am not pleased with the new parking pattern on Mason. I could not see how to get around a pickup truck that was parked next to me. I think it is very dangerous.