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ing that it’s possible to improve Rt. 211 so that it meets all safety standards unthout dual-laning.
Proponents cite safety and traffic
“Rappahannock County is a special place. We like to keep things like they are. We don’t want change,” said Supervisor Mike Massie. To illustrate the county’s mindset, he repeated a joke that’s making the rounds of the country stores: “How many Rappahannopck County people does it take to change a light bulb? Four - one to change the light bulb and three to talk about how much they miss the old one.”
But some change is necessary, Mr. Massie said, citing the expansion at the high school, raises in teachers’ salaries, and adoption of a revised and improved zoning ordinance as examples of progress. “Now we have to change a dangerous road to a safe road. It’s a good change.”
Hubert Gilkey noted that in his nine years as the representative from Wakefield District, the Board of Supervisors has supported the dual-laning of Rt. 211. Maintaining that the dual-laning is needed to improve safety, the board’s chairman said: “I was one of the first two EMTs on the scene (of the July, 1986 accident at the Farmers Co-op which took two lives). If this can save even one person from going through what went on there that day, it will be worth every penny of the taxpayers’ money.”
“The last time Rt. 211 was reconstructed was 1929. It’s built to the standards of a model-T,” said Piedmont District Supervisor Charles Estes. For 57 years, users of Rt. 211 have been paying gas taxes: 17.5 cents now for Virginia’s levy and 9.1 cents for the federal government’s share, Mr. Estes noted. “This money is supposed to go back into the highway fund for maintenance and construction projects . . . 211 has earned the $12 million (for the dual-laning). It’s not a gift from the state government. It’s not a gift from the federal government. It’s our money. It’s the highway users’ money. That’s why we have the gasoline taxes — to replace roads when they’re outdated.”
Mr. Estes recalled that on the board’s behalf he has lobbied at every allocation hearing in the past six years for money to finish the up
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