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A sign on Gary Greenwald's barn warns motorists of the high volume of dust produced along the road.
The dust along Grand Brooks Road in Spotsylvania County is so bad that motorists can barely see the vehicle
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Trees are coated by dust along Grand Brooks Road, |
By DAN TELVOCK
There's a near revolution on Grand Brooks Road.
Residents who live on this dirt road in the rural Livingston District of Spotsylvania County are fed up with the dust.
They're fed up with the bumps and holes. And they're sick of excuses.
"We have been fighting for this road for 20 years," said Gary Greenwald at his 42-acre hay and cattle farm. "It's really been a struggle."
Greenwald said every time a car drives by, a cloud of dust follows. He nailed a sign to his red barn that warns motorists to slow down because of the dust.
"It's everywhere," he said. "The trees, the bushes, they're white from this dust."
Deville Chowdhery, who organized more than 35 residents to ask for help at a Board of Supervisors meeting last week, said they petitioned supervisors in 1991. She said the road was on the county's six-year plan then.
"In one ear and out the other," she said.
Half of the 4-mile road is so bumpy it feels like a car driving over railroad tracks. Residents say motorists often use Grand Brooks Road, which connects to Lawyers and Stubbs Bridge roads, as a cut-through to State Route 20.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is broke, said Livingston District Supervisor T.C. Waddy, and hasn't been able to pave the road.
"I don't think the county should get involved in building roads," Waddy said.
Waddy said the county's rural roads are neglected.
This year, he fought to include the paved but narrow Jones Powell Road on a list of nine public-private projects to fund, even though experts said the road didn't have enough traffic to warrant improvements. In the past, Waddy said he helped get Robertson and Bradley roads paved.
But those roads are just the tip of the iceberg.
There are 35 unpaved roads in Spotsylvania County, spanning 29 miles. County officials say it will cost about $41.5 million to pave them all.
"I feel sorry for the people but I've got more dirt roads in my district than anybody in the county," Waddy said.
Grand Brooks Road will cost $8.7 million to pave, which comes to $186,000 per home on the road.
"They've spent $5 million just putting gravel on it," Greenwald said. "I told them 'Why don't you just surface-treat this road?'"
Residents say they pay county taxes just like everyone else, and they require fewer public services. They don't have public water or sewer service. The closest fire station is 8 miles away.
"We just get no support at all," said Ginger Brooks, who works at the 601 Variety Store on Lawyers Road. "It's like talking to deaf ears."
Waddy said he has no idea when the road will be paved.
"I'm trying just as hard as anybody else," he said. "I am in favor of doing it but I can't put the money up myself to do it. It's going to be awhile before it's done."
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
