Graphic courtesy of VDOT
By Matt de Simone
The Botetourt County School Board unanimously approved commitment Thursday to donate an easement at Lord Botetourt High School if a proposed traffic improvement project along U.S. 220 receives state funding, a move intended to strengthen the project’s competitiveness for SMART SCALE transportation dollars.
The action authorizes the school division to provide a future easement for the project if it is selected for funding. According to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials, reducing the project’s right-of-way costs through the donation could improve its score in the state’s competitive funding process.
Carol Moneymaker, a strategic planner with VDOT’s Salem District, presented the proposal, outlining longstanding traffic and safety concerns at the school’s entrances.
Moneymaker said 22 crashes were recorded near the school over a five-year period used for SMART SCALE scoring, including 19 property damage crashes and three injury crashes. Of those, 21 occurred on weekdays and 16 happened between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., when students are most likely to be arriving at or leaving school.
She also noted that approximately 32,000 vehicles travel the U.S. 220 corridor daily, with about 25% consisting of heavy trucks. During afternoon peak hours, roughly 3,000 vehicles pass the school.
The proposed project includes installing partial-access traffic signals at both school entrances, improving turn lanes, adding a restricted crossing U-turn at Tinker Mountain Road, and modifying the school’s internal traffic circulation. Moneymaker said the improvements would create protected turning movements, eliminate the need for school staff to stop traffic on U.S. 220, and improve traffic flow during student arrival and dismissal.
To accommodate the project, VDOT is seeking a future easement that would allow installation and maintenance of signal equipment and pavement markings.
Moneymaker emphasized that the board was not being asked to convey the easement immediately.
“The letter tonight is not giving us the easement,” she said. “It’s a commitment that if the project is funded, that you agree to give us the easement.”
If the project is not selected for funding, the easement would not be conveyed.
Board members questioned both the timing of the request and the project’s lengthy timeline. Several also expressed frustration that school administrators continue directing traffic on the busy highway while funding remains uncertain and the proposed improvements could still be years away.
Even if the project is selected for funding in 2027, VDOT officials said development would not begin until 2029, with construction expected to start in 2032 under the state’s six-year improvement program, a timeline Moneymaker said reflects the state’s SMART SCALE funding process.
Board member Tim Davidick (Valley) questioned why the easement request was coming just weeks before the application deadline and asked why the board had not been approached sooner.
A VDOT representative explained that engineers have continued refining the project over recent weeks in an effort to lower costs and improve its SMART SCALE score. He said requesting the easement donation is a new strategy intended to reduce estimated project costs by eliminating the need to purchase the property rights.
When Davidick asked for the estimated value of the easement, Moneymaker said she did not have a final appraisal because VDOT’s right-of-way office was delaying its estimate pending the board’s decision. She said engineers believe the value is roughly $50,000.
Davidick said he would have preferred more precise figures before making a decision.
Board member Jenny Wilson asked about the overall cost of the project. VDOT officials said current estimates place the project between $10 million and $12 million before inflation, adding that without SMART SCALE funding the only realistic alternative would be a cost-sharing arrangement requiring a significant local financial commitment.
Questions also focused on how the proposed project could affect traffic circulation on campus.
Andy DeWease, the school division’s director of operations, said VDOT’s conceptual circulation plan would require additional discussion because it relocates buses to the front of the school, while current operations place them behind the building. He noted the high school’s transportation system includes transfer buses and other operational considerations that would need to be addressed if the project moves forward.
School Superintendent Dr. Janet Womack asked whether the proposed pavement markings would clearly direct motorists through the new traffic pattern, and Moneymaker said that is the intent of the design. Board member Dana McCaleb also sought clarification that the easement commitment would only take effect if the grant application is successful, which VDOT confirmed.
The board approved the easement commitment by a 4-0 vote. Chair Anna Weddle (Amsterdam) was absent from the meeting.
The July 9 Botetourt County School Board meeting is available for viewing in its entirety at bcps.live/archives.
