ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 14, 1996 TAG: 9605140053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
COUNTY RESIDENTS WHO want their road to move up on the state's priority list for repairs can agree to pay the local share.
Residents along Yale Drive in West Roanoke County who tried blockading their road to get potholes in it fixed are taking a different approach.
A majority of property owners along the road agreed over the weekend to pay part of the cost for paving a section of Yale Drive so that it could qualify for state maintenance.
All but a quarter-mile at the end of Yale Drive already is maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation. But that section includes a cul-de-sac on the dead-end road where school buses and garbage trucks turn around every day. The big trucks have created big potholes, and residents are demanding that the county pay to patch holes made by county-owned vehicles.
In March, residents blocked part of their road to keep buses and trucks out of the cul-de-sac. Since then, they have been negotiating with county officials. They came up with a plan in which the county will pay for short-term, temporary repairs of the potholes. Residents will then split the cost of paving the road with VDOT, and Yale Drive will be added to the state-maintained road system in two to four years.
Members from seven of the households owning property along the section of Yale Drive that is not yet state-maintained had voted for the plan as of Monday evening. Two other households will be polled this week, but the group already has the majority it needs to proceed, resident Danny Richards said.
Residents are estimating each household will need to come up with about $370 by Christmas. The cost of the project is estimated at $9,200.
Resident John Hinkle said residents plan to put their money into a separate account so that Roanoke County doesn't collect interest over the next couple of years.
Residents along that section of Yale Drive plan to ask for contributions from the 11 households that line the portion already under VDOT jurisdiction.
Arnold Covey, the head of Roanoke County's engineering department, said Yale Drive isn't simply a case of the rutted road getting the asphalt. Although there are other county residents trying to get their roads into the state system, the section of Yale Drive at issue was intended to be a state road. It was either dropped from or never added to the state system. Records are unclear on what happened or why.
State money for the project will come from VDOT's revenue-sharing program. Under the program, the state divides a pot of money between all cities and counties that apply. This year, that pot is $10 million, and Roanoke County will receive about $300,000. To get that money, however, the county must pay half for each project in which the revenue-sharing funds are used.
The program allows for a twist, however. County residents who want their road to move up on the priority list can agree to pay the local share.
County officials have agreed to pay $1,800 off the top for up-front pothole repairs. Any money left over will help reduce the residents' share.
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