Safety Measures Proposed for Major Spotsylvania County Road

County plans to apply for funding for safety improvements on Salem Church Road from VDOT’s SMART SCALE program.

by Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT

Over the past five years, there have been 93 vehicle crashes, and one fatality, on a well-traveled road in Spotsylvania County.

Now, after months of input from the public, the Virginia Department of Transportation is recommending a series of changes with the goal of improving safety on Salem Church Road between U.S. 3 and Harrison Road.

The 1.5 mile stretch of road includes Salem Elementary School, Spotsylvania County Fire Station #6, the Salem branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, a small park, and access to the old Salem Church and the Civil War battlefield site overseen by the National Park Service.

More than 24,000 vehicles travel the roadway each day and there is also significant pedestrian and bicycle traffic, according to a VDOT study.

Traffic studies conducted by V-DOT indicate the traffic flow on Salem Church Road, has not increased significantly since 2018.

VDOT conducted a study of the roadway and sought public comment in order to facilitate Spotsylvania County’s application for funding through Virginia’s SMART-SCALE program, which is a method of scoring and funding projects that meet one or more needs identified in Virginia’s Transportation Plan.

The study is open for public comment through next week.

The suggestions include installing sidewalks along the west side of Salem Church Road—where there are currently no sidewalks—and filling in intermittent sidewalks that exist near the library and several businesses on the east side of the road.

High visibility crosswalks are proposed at the north and west legs of the intersection of U.S. 3 and Salem Church Road, as well as a High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (or HAWK) just south of the library that would enable pedestrians to stop traffic in order to cross the road.

The HAWK does not include a regular traffic light but does have lights that flash yellow and can switch to red when a pedestrian is seeking to cross.

Other suggested improvements include an additional lane of traffic on the east leg of the Salem Church Road and General Seemes Road near the battlefield and dedicated left turn lanes both eastbound and westbound.

Further down the road, near Up-A-Way Drive, left turns would be restricted onto Salem Church Road heading north. Left turns would also be restricted from Lucas Street Salem Church Road heading south.

The turn lane additions and left turn restrictions are important because the overwhelming majority of the crashes along Salem Church Road have been “angle” crashes, in which one car hit the side of another vehicle during a turn.

Curb cut ramps would also be installed on all the sidewalks at intersections to make pedestrian access compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.

There are three different proposals for the road which can be approved by the SMART SCALE team together or separately.

SMART SCALE makes it possible for localities to make critical transportation improvements using limited tax dollars, according to the program’s website. It’s aimed at reducing congestion, improving safety, and promoting economic development while limiting additional land use and the impact on the environment.

A spokeswoman for Spotsylvania County says the county is planning to pursue funding for these projects. No cost estimate or timetable is available at present.

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