Warren County asks for input on traffic restriction

By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Ban trucks from one road and drivers find a way around — often adding traffic to other streets — state and Frederick County officials warned Monday.

During a meeting of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors' transportation committee, representatives of Warren County sought input on a potential restriction of tractor-trailers and trucks on Reliance Road (Va. 627).

But possible alternatives may worsen the situation, officials warned.

The number of non-passenger vehicles on the road has increased from 3 percent to 5 percent in recent years, according to Warren County Administrator Douglas Stanley. The number includes tractor-trailers, dump trucks and buses.

Reliance Road runs 6.4 miles from U.S. 11 north of Middletown to the Cedarville area of Warren County. Frederick County's stretch of about 1.8 miles has been improved with center-line stripes and is wider than much of the road in Warren County through the Reliance community.

Warren County would need to gain approval from the Virginia Department of Transportation to restrict truck traffic on the road. VDOT has asked that Warren County receive an endorsement from Frederick County supervisors.

The administrator noted that Warren County supervisors have yet to discuss the issue as a board.

"I think, over the years, probably the biggest irritation has been the dump trucks, mainly because the fact that the road to the quarry closed down, folks were getting their gravel from Global Chemstone in the Strasburg area," Stanley said.

Warren County officials continue to hear complaints from more residents and drivers using Reliance Road, the administrator said.

"The complaints have ranged from dump trucks over on the side of the road, forcing people to turn off," Stanley said.

Glenn White, Warren County supervisor for the North River District, added that drivers may also use Guard Hill Road — a route with numerous blind spots — to avoid traffic signals on Reliance Road entering Front Royal.

Proposed alternatives include sending tractor-trailers and trucks south on U.S. 11 into Strasburg to Va. 55 or north to Va. 277 at Stephens City.

"The alternatives aren't great, and they're also putting traffic through two small towns," Stanley said.

Dump trucks don't use Interstate 66 to travel east, officials said, due to stricter weight limits than for byways like Reliance Road.

Frederick County has fallen victim to the unintended consequences, Stonewall Supervisor Charles "Chuck" Dehaven said.

"We have more experience than we would like with this issue," Dehaven said. "It's been my experience ... that these truck restrictions will often, if not always, yield unanticipated results. It's created probably more problems than the attempt to address [problems] that existed that initiated the discussion."

"But we understand, and I think I speak for our board, we'd always had a desire to work with our neighbors in helping any way that we can," Dehaven added.

Also at the meeting, John Bishop, transportation planner for Frederick County, said he was waiting for more input from the Sheriff's Office before making a recommendation to the committee about red-light traffic cameras. Officials have said the cameras would help prevent drivers from running red lights at some of the county's most dangerous intersections.

* Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com