Thru trucks prohibited on Charles City Road; details provided on recent broadband grant

Following suit to similar action taking in Oct. 2019, Charles City’s Board of Supervisors approved restricting thru truck traffic on another road in the county.

County leaders unanimously approved prohibition of thru traffic trucks on Charles City Road (Route 600) at the Jan. 30 board meeting.

In Oct. 2019, supervisors passed a motion to restrict thru truck traffic on a portion of Old Union Road (Route 603). During the public comments, while people praised the decision, residents on Charles City Road were concerned that trucks would utilize their road as an alternate route into Henrico County. As that meeting, District 1 supervisor Gilbert Smith advised Charles City Road residents with those concerns to go through the process similar to ban thru trucks on Old Union Road.

That restriction appeared before supervisors at the Jan. 2020 meeting. Only two people spoke during the public comment period on the issue.

“That stretch of road is 3.2 miles long, has 36 driveways, blind spots, and tree overgrowth that contribute to poor visibility,” said Charles City Road resident Arthur Glenn. “We need to keep traffic on the roads they were designed to be on.”

“I hope that there are signs put on the Henrico side to let drivers know that traffic will be restricted on Charles City Road,” commented David Ware, specifically pointing to vehicles that turn off Elko Road in Henrico onto Charles City Road in Henrico before it crosses into Charles City County.

After the passing of the restriction, a resolution will be specifically written requesting that signs are posted both on the Henrico side of Charles City Road and Roxbury Road (Route 106) in Charles City about the restrictions. Thru truck traffic will either have to use Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) in New Kent or John Tyler Memorial Highway (Route 5) for access into Henrico.

In another matter addressed at the board meeting, an update about broadband unveiled details of the recently accepted grant presented to the county.

On Jan. 22, Charles City received nearly $4 million in grants as part of the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative. This grant was presented to the county as a step to bring broadband internet to the county.

County administrator Michelle Johnson provided details about the grant, that included a $1.3 million match from Comcast as the county’s partner. The grant would pay for approximately 141 miles of cable run throughout most of the county. A map detailed the locations to go as far west as the Charles City/Henrico line, as far north as the Charles City/New Kent line, as far south as John Tyler Memorial Highway (Route 5), and as far east towards Wilcox Neck Road. Johnson added that while most of the county will be covered, towers for the original broadband will still be located in efforts to provide as much coverage to the county.

Plans through Comcast would have Internet cost as lost as $61.95/month if bundled or $74/month if standalone. If all plans and approval are completed for the roll-out of broadband by June, expectancy for broadband Internet in the county will appear as early as Spring 2021.