Congested 29 traffic being studied

By John Crane

Published: November 10, 2008

BLAIRS – Pittsylvania County residents say traffic along U.S. 29 is dangerous because drivers have to contend with high-speed vehicles when making turns.

Conditions are especially dicey at Chatham Middle School and the Tightsqueeze interchange, residents said.

About 50 people attended a public meeting Monday at the middle school to contribute their input to an access-management study for the stretch of U.S. 29 from Dry Fork Road to the business ramps entering southern Chatham. Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. is conducting the study, along with the Virginia Department of Transportation, West Piedmont Planning District Commission and the county.

The study’s purpose is to examine traffic flow along U.S. 29 and to create ways to manage highway access and provide a link between land use and transportation.

The county anticipates economic growth along the highway from Malmaison Road to the Tightsqueeze area in the future. A slowed economy may postpone development, but that provides more time to plan, County Planner Greg Sides said.

Morning peak hours generate clogged, hazardous traffic conditions at the interchange at Chatham Middle School, Chatham resident Lisa Caviness said Monday.

Buses lined up to turn from U.S. 29 into the school lot cause a 10- to 15-minute wait, she said. When heading south to take her child to school, Caviness said she drives down to the intersection at Dry Fork and Snakepath roads, makes a u-turn and heads north to the school to bypass the gridlock.

Sides said the county is trying to find ways to manage traffic and accommodate growth along the highway in accordance with VDOT guidelines. The study will not result in medians or crossovers being closed, he said. Instead, the purpose is to incorporate guidelines into the county’s comprehensive plan to manage growth as it occurs.

The county, VDOT, the commission and Kimley-Horn will incorporate public comment into the report and develop access-management recommendations and strategies.

Another public meeting will be held in January regarding the proposed strategies, with a final report presented to the Board of Supervisors in February.

A draft report of a similar study for the area from Malmaison and Dry Fork roads along U.S. 29 can be viewed at http://www.wppdc.org.

Contact John R. Crane at or (434) 791-7987.