VDOT announces plan to improve safety at dangerous New Kent intersection

A Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plan to improve safety at what has been labeled the most dangerous intersection in New Kent County has received the blessing of the county’s Board of Supervisors.

VDOT interim residency administrator Marshall Winn outlined the plan to correct the situation at the intersection of Route 155 (Courthouse Road) and Kentland Trail during today’s monthly work session.

The plan calls for eliminating the center lane where Kentland Trail branches into three lanes approaching the intersection from Colonial Downs and Brickshire. Proposed is a double-stop for vehicles for added safety purposes. There will be a right turn only lane, while the left lane will permit traffic to go straight or turn left.

The lanes in question possibly contributed to an April 8 car/tractor-trailer accident that claimed the lives of three Chesterfield County men. Since that time, New Kent’s Transportation Safety Commission has urged VDOT to embark on measures to correct the situation.

Lanes approaching the intersection on Route 155 are to remain intact under the plan. However, supervisors asked Winn to look into the possibility of reducing the speed limit (currently 50 miles per hour), as well as the addition of rumble strips. Any speed limit reduction would cover the area from Interstate 64 south to where Route 155 becomes a two-lane road.

District 4 supervisor Ron Stiers recommended converting the intersection to a roundabout.

“It has been proven that [roundabouts] are a lot safer and it would make that intersection easier to navigate,” said Stiers.

Winn said if the project to redesign the lanes is approved by VDOT’s engineering department, those changes could be instituted within 30-45 days.