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By SHARON KILPATRICK
Rappahannock Ncwa Staff Writer
A fairly small crowd came out for a public hearing at the Flint Hill firehall on realigning Route 729 where it crosses Hickman Run slightly east of Flint Hill.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is proposing to move the bridge and its approaches about 50 feet downstream from the current crossing. This would eliminate several curves in the road.
Larry Jensen, who owns two parcels of land that will be divided by the rebuilt part of the road, objected to the proposed route and offered to donate land for a different alignment that would involve rebuilding a larger portion of the road.
Mr. Jensen owns one 15-acre parM along with Rose H. Jensen and another of about 59 acres in only his name. The proposed road will cut off about one-fourth of an acre from the smaller parcel and about 1.25 acres from the larger parcel.
William Jenkins from VDOTs department of location and design in Culpeper said the improvement to Route 729 is included in the six-year secondary road plan. He said the road is currently 19 feet wide and narrows to one lane to cross the bridge. There are several curves approaching the bridge and one after it.
He said that last year the traffic on the bridge was measured at 380 vehicles per day and that VDOT expects that to increase to 777 vehicles per day by the year 2003.
He said $340,000 has been set aside for acquiring right-of-way and constructing the new road and culverts. The project is scheduled to begin during the summer of 1992.
Douglas McCabe, representing the Flint Hill Fire Department and Rescue Squad, said he has gone on numerous rescue calls for accidents on that section of road, and that many other accidents that end with cars in the ditch are not reported.
He said that the area is dangerous because of blind spots approaching the bridge, people driving in the middle of the road, flooding at the bridge in high water, and poor traction in winter weather for cars coming into Flint Hill.
He said he also lives along the road. “The residents would like to see a speedy solution to this dangerous situation,” he added.
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