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Spotsylvania County School Board rejects two proposals to improve road in front of future Elementary No. 17

Date published: 8/15/2007

BY RACHANA DIXIT

The Spotsylvania County School Board rejected two proposals on Monday for improvements on Massaponax Church Road, where the county's newest elementary school will be located.

The proposals were from two private companies, Massaponax Church Road LLC and Spotsylvania County Infrastructure LLC, through authorized partnerships under the Public-Private Education Act.

Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services James Meyer said the proposals did not have a feasible timeline for the road's completion and costs far exceeded the School Board's budget.

Each private entity was estimating that road improvements would cost $8 million, about double the Board's budget for the project. The companies also estimated that the improvements would take roughly 24 months--or 12 months too long. Elementary No. 17 is scheduled to open next fall.

"We can't make it work," Meyer said.

There have been several changes in plans to improve the road. The original county estimate for widening and straightening about seven-tenths of a mile of the road--plus adding turn lanes and a traffic signal--was around $4 million. But VDOT later changed the scope of the project, which included almost doubling the width of the road, and the cost soared to about $7.6 million.

A $3.7 million hybrid plan includes straightening out and widening a curvy half-mile of Massaponax Church Road between U.S. 17 and Hickory Drive, Meyer said. Striping and reflectors would also be added to the other seven-tenths portion, and the county has agreed to add a traffic signal at the intersection of Massaponax Church Road and U.S. 17.

Meyer said he is certain the Board can add the necessary turn lanes in front of the school before next year. The Board will now go to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors to amend their conditional use permit to only include the turn lanes. The current permit requires that the whole road be completed by the school's opening.

"[The turn lanes] we can have ready by fall 2008," Meyer said. "The rest, it's absolutely impossible."

Spotsylvania County Superintendent Jerry Hill said that if the permit is not adjusted, then the School Board will have to deal with it, though redistricting plans already are in place to send students to Elementary 17.

Regardless of road issues, he said, the school needs to open to alleviate overcrowding.

"We're two years behind," Hill said. "We're pretty desperate to open the school."

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Date published: 8/15/2007