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By EDIE GROSS
A national preservation group is offering to partner with the Virginia Department of Transportation in an effort to keep land near the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield from being encroached upon.
The Civil War Preservation Trust opposes recent changes that VDOT has made to the Spotsylvania Courthouse Bypass project, changes the organization says could subject a large piece of land north of the bypass--and next to the battlefield--to greater development.
The organization has urged VDOT to limit access from the bypass to that property. But transportation officials say that if they do so, they'll have to pay the landowner a considerable amount in damages.
That's money that would come out of the construction budget and probably delay the $43 million road project, which has been in the works since the 1960s.
Jim Campi, the trust's policy and communications director, said this week that his group is willing to pool its money with VDOT's to ensure the land is preserved and the road project moves forward.
"The truth of the matter is we don't want to get in a huge fight about it," Campi said. "If the concern was that it's too expensive [to limit access to the land], we'd be willing to partner with VDOT to cover some of those costs."
VDOT's Fredericksburg District administrator, Dave Ogle, said he's interested in the trust's offer, but his agency can't use road-construction money to buy land that it's not building on.
VDOT needs only about 12 acres of the 188-acre Alrich property for the bypass project. Purchasing and preserving the rest would be up to the Civil War trust or another buyer, Ogle said.
"I can understand how you have to have somebody to lash out at, but the truth is I certainly have no problem whatsoever with that property never being developed," Ogle said. "I have no problem whatsoever with it becoming part of the National Park Service.
"I just don't feel it's proper or appropriate that land be acquired with transportation dollars and then turned over [to another organization]," he said. "The dollars we have are supposed to be used for the transportation system."
Campi said his organization could try to tap into VDOT's enhancement grant funds, which have been used for battlefield preservation in the past.
Members of the Alrich family have said their property is not on the market right now, though they wouldn't rule out a sale.
About 115 residents attended a meeting last night at Spotsylvania Courthouse's Marshall Center to look over the proposed changes to the project.
It was an informal setting where residents looked over maps, submitted written comments or recorded their own thoughts on one of two unmanned tape recorders left on a table.
The Courthouse Bypass is supposed to begin at the intersection of the existing State Route 208 (Courthouse Road) and Wild Turkey Drive, then stretch south and west, roughly following the paths of Robert E. Lee Drive and Block House Road, before reconnecting with Route 208 at Post Oak just west of the Ta River.
VDOT originally planned to provide only limited access between the bypass and the Alrich tract, so as not to encourage development close to the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield.
The agency designed the road with a small "farm access" to the property, essentially an opening large enough to accommodate farm equipment but not large enough for something like a subdivision.
According to VDOT, the Alrich family objected, saying the small opening would hurt the future value of their land, most of which is sandwiched between the battlefield and the bypass route.
VDOT then agreed to provide "regular access" to a portion of the Alrich tract to avoid having to pay heavy damages.
But preservation organizations, Spotsylvania supervisors, the National Park Service and the state Department of Historic Resources have opposed that change.
They also criticized VDOT for making it without consulting groups that had previously agreed to the limited-access plan.
"I think it's unacceptable that VDOT would change the plan at this point when there has already been public buy-in to the plan, assuming limited access on that farm road," said Catherine Farley, who chairs Spotsylvania Voters to Stop Sprawl. "It's a very different matter having a farm road versus a road that is sufficient to serve high-density."
So far, VDOT has spent $4 million buying the right of way needed for the bypass project. The only piece not purchased is the Alrich land, which could exceed $1 million if VDOT insists on limited access, officials have said.
Spending that kind of money on right of way could delay construction of the road for at least a year, Ogle said. VDOT was scheduled to start looking for contractors this summer or fall.
"The concern I have is if we end up having to pay what the courts might award, we very likely would not be able to go forward with the project," he said.
Furthermore, how that land is developed is up to the county--not VDOT, Ogle said.
If VDOT recommends opening up access to the Alrich property, the Commonwealth Transportation Board would have to sign off on that request before the project could move forward. It would also need approval from the Federal Highway Administration.
Campi said that if VDOT decides to provide more access to the land, it could spur development in a sensitive spot.
"It's historic property. It should be preserved," Campi said. "It's not VDOT's business to make land easier to be developed."
For more information about the project, visit virginiadot.org. Anyone wishing to comment on the project should send a letter to Ogle at the VDOT Fredericksburg District office, 87 Deacon Road, Fredericksburg, Va. 22405. All letters must be postmarked by Sept. 10.
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