The Virginia Department of Transportation is conducting several projects in Caroline County, including the top-ranked priority for Smart Scale consideration.
VDOT Resident Engineer Walter Burke provided an update on the projects during the Caroline Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night:
- The Interstate 95 northbound and southbound bridge rehabilitation project near Exit 104 is advertised for construction with bids expected on July 22. Federal funds are allocated for the project, which will include additional surfacing and joint elimination.
- The State Route 207 northbound bridge over the Mattaponi River rehabilitation project is slated to be completed next week, more than two months ahead of schedule. The project included superstructure replacement and substructure rehabilitation. Construction began last July.
- Construction for improvements to the intersection at U.S. Route 301 and Chase Street in Bowling Green is set to begin in 2028 with the right-of-way phase starting this fall. Smart Scale — a data-driven system of ranking road projects in Virginia — is funding the $14.1 million effort, which will reconstruct the intersection into a continuous green T and close the crossover at 301 and Courthouse Lane.
- In 2025, Smart Scale ranked intersection improvements at U.S. Route 1 and Paige/Marye Roads No. 1 on its priority list and recommended $7 million in state funding. The project will construct left-turn lanes for the northbound and southbound directions of Route 1 at the State Route 605 intersection for safer operations. Project design is scheduled to begin in 2027. More travelers are expected in the area since the intersection is two miles from Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, a new indoor water park in the Thornburg area of Spotsylvania County scheduled to open in November.
- Smart Scale is also funding improvements to the Route 1 and Lake Caroline intersection for safer operations. VDOT will construct left and right turn lanes in the northbound and southbound directions, beginning in 2027.
- Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2028 on a bridge replacement on Edgehill Academy Road (State Route 632) over the Matta River in Woodford. A 12-mile detour from Edgehill to Paige Road to Route 1 to Stonewall Jackson Road will be required during construction. Supervisor Floyd Thomas implored Burke to communicate the plans to Caroline County Public Schools since it will impact bus routes.
- A 12-mile detour will also be required during bridge replacement at Countyline Church Road over Temples Mill Stream. The detour will go from Countyline Church Road to Ladysmith Road to Route 1 to Gatewood Road. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in mid-2028.
Burke also noted that 21 road resurfacing projects are occurring in the county this year, totaling 136.7 lane miles.
Supervisor Reginald Underwood, who represents the Reedy Church District, said he’s concerned about the lack of resurfacing projects in the Dawn area.
Board Chair Clay Forehand of the Madison District doesn’t have any projects listed in the area he serves but requested that VDOT add one foot of pavement on each side of Durrett Road, a side street off Route 1 that leads to the Caroline Family YMCA, Lewis & Clark Elementary School, and approximately 100 new homes in the Ladysmith Village neighborhood.
The narrow road was previously unpaved and rarely used beyond the YMCA, but after the construction of the Maple Grove 55-and-older active adult community and additional homes near Lewis & Clark, residents now traverse Durrett frequently.
“It’s showing its abuse a bit,” Forehand said.
In other business Tuesday, the county deferred a vote on an ordinance regulating the solar industry until Monday, two days before a state law takes effect that would permit battery storage facilities by-right if they accompany a solar project.
The planning commission recommended approval of an ordinance last week, but the supervisors seek more time to finalize it.
