As Dick Hayden was driving to his home in Free Union, he thought the flashing roadside sign might caution him of a closing lane ahead. But as he drew closer, he noticed it gave notice of different closure: that of the Free Union area facility for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). It handles day-to-day maintenance of area roads—snow plowing, debris removal, pothole patching—and a closure has gotten Hayden worried.
“I don’t like to talk about it from a selfish standpoint, because there’s a large area,” says Hayden, a retired GE worker and Free Union resident for 20 years. He rattles off a laundry list of subdivisions, fire departments, schools, animal hospitals, dairy farms and an airport. “Those are all handled out of this facility. …So we’re very concerned and we’re trying to get VDOT to give us those kinds of answers.”
 Dick Hayden is among a group of Free Union residents concerned about the possible closure of the Virginia Department of Transportation facility there. |
Asking for more information, Hayden and a growing cohort of concerned locals began calling and e-mailing VDOT officials, County supervisors, schools and fire departments. The campaign was effective: County spokesperson Lee Catlin sent out a press release expressing the official “concern” of the County Board of Supervisors, and VDOT officials agreed to hold a public meeting at the Free Union Baptist Church on December 1 to discuss with local residents and County officials the reasoning behind the proposed change.
Lou Hatter, regional VDOT spokesman, says the closure of 91 facilities statewide is a matter of efficiency. The consolidation is spurred in some measure by a recent State law mandating that private contractors, and not VDOT, maintain interstate highways. It doesn’t help that Virginia legislators have been unable to come to terms on a transportation budget. Between 40 and 50 employees will lose their jobs.
Hatter says even if the Free Union facility is closed, the area is still within 45 minutes service time of another headquarters. And if a snowstorm is forecast, he says VDOT will stockpile the equipment necessary for clearing the roads nearby.
About 200 people showed for last Friday’s meeting, according to Hayden, who was frustrated that VDOT officials didn’t respond to citizens’ questions. “I think that we were able to provide them new information with regards to why the facility should stay open that they didn’t know about,” Hayden says.
VDOT will make its final decision concerning consolidation in mid-December. If they go forward as planned, the Free Union facility will be closed in the spring.
For more information about the Virginia Department of Transportation, go to:
