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provement alternative estimated by the value engineering team, Mr. Phillips added.
“The existing road, with its limited sight distances, would take extensive rebuilding to meet today’s standards,” he said. That rebuilding wasn’t taken into account by the value engineering study. The road improvements suggested as an alternative by the study team would result in a substandard highway, according to Mr. Phillips.
“If we build a road to substandard geometries and someone has an accident, the department and/or the individuals involved can be held personally liable. For that reason we take every precaution to protect the department and its engineering staff by not building to substandad geometries.”
The existing two-lane highway can’t be brought up to current standards, he confirmed, “not with the existing grades.”
Asked if the tops of hills could be shaved to improve what the value engineering team described as “nontolerable sight distances,” Mr. Phillips replied, “It’s not that simple.” What it would take, he said, would be an entirely new two-lane road with a new alignment.
The location and design specialist also noted that the 4.4 mile section of Rt. 211 between Washington and Sperryville is part of Virginia’s arterial system and was so designated by “legislative action” in the 1960s.
By dual-laning, VDOT is “carrying out that legislative directive” and meeting its responsibility to provide for “the safety and convenience of the traveling public,” Mr. Phillips concluded.
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