JCC One Step Closer to Solving Jolly Pond Road Problem

By Desiree Parker Wednesday, July 06, 2011

 

Thanks to legislation pushed through by state Del. Brenda Pogge, James City County is one small step closer to figuring out how to reopen the closed part of Jolly Pond Road.

There’s still a long way to go, though, before that happens. The process includes approval of a plan by the Board of Supervisors and some discussion from state agencies to begin with, as well as some research and planning on the part of county staff.

In early 2009, the Virginia Department of Transportation barricaded part of Jolly Pond Road after a privately owned dam didn’t get a needed permit. The state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) wouldn’t issue the needed certification because the dam owner couldn’t afford to bring the dam into compliance with safety regulations. At the time, an engineering analysis put the repair cost for the dam at $2.5 million. Since then, getting from one side of the dam to the other requires a miles-long detour and has proven to be a challenge to residents, school bus drivers and others.

In its 2011 legislative agenda, the county asked its state legislators to propose a bill that would authorize limited use of secondary roads should VDOT discontinue them. This would allow the county to take responsibility for a secondary road if it were to be removed from VDOT’s purview, and thus open up the possibility of making Jolly Pond Road whole again.

Del. Pogge took the county’s request to the House of Delegates; her bill passed and went into effect July 1.

Though the bill is now a law, the road is still part of VDOT’s secondary road system and not yet in the county’s control.

According to county Development Management Manager Steven Hicks, staff plans to meet with the DCR to find out “what is needed to make road access safe. Then, we need to determine the costs associated with this and what else might be needed.

“We’ll also need to review our Emergency Access Plan and then determine how to access the road. It’s not going to be an easy process.”

The Board of Supervisors has to approve any plan of action, including whether the county chooses to request that VDOT discontinue the road, according to County Attorney Leo Rogers.

County Administrator Robert Middaugh says the legislation “means now we have a tool to pursue reopening the area… it’s clearly been a pain in the neck for the folks who live there.”

Middaugh expects to have DCR input by mid-July, and he says the issue will likely go before the Board for discussion in August or September.