VDOT to Scott supervisors: Get road requests ready for six-year plan

GATE CITY – Budget time is coming, from the General Assembly to local governments, and the Virginia Department of Transportation is asking localities to get their wish list of road projects together by April.VDOT Wise and Scott Residency Administrator Allan Sumpter asked the Scott County Board of Supervisors last week to get their annual priority list ready by April for rural road projects."It makes it easier on you if you have a priority list established," Sumpter said, adding that it also makes it easier to update as projects are funded or completed and slots open lower in the list.Sumpter said the April list completion will allow for public hearings in May to finalize the state's and Bristol VDOT district's overall six-year transportation plans.While the General Assembly is still working on its biennial budget for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, Sumpter said approximately $25 million will be available statewide and between $900,000 and $1 million for Scott County in the upcoming fiscal year. Bridge renaming County Administrator Josh Wilson said he has prepared a draft resolution for board consideration to rename the bridge at the U.S. Route 23 exit onto Kane Street in Gate City in honor of former state delegate and Circuit Court Judge Ford Quillen, who died in January.Sumpter said the process for naming a bridge in the VDOT road system requires the local government resolution be passed and sent to the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Action by CTB typically takes about three months, and the locality would fund the bridge signs. A small version of the sign would be presented to the family when the renaming is finalized. Roadside trash pickup Sumpter also addressed roadside trash pickup in Scott County and other Southwest Virginia localities. Workloads from road projects and maintenance take priority for VDOT crews, he said. Using offenders for trash pickup has become harder because of a lack of law enforcement personnel to supervise those details.VDOT typically sends out contracts to local law enforcement agencies and regional jails that authorize off-duty officers to supervise road details. Participating officers are paid $25 an hour to oversee offenders for an eight-hour detail.Officers willing to work on their day off have become harder to find, Sumpter said, and numbers of eligible prisoners at the regional jails have declined. The Scott County Sheriff's Office has chosen not to enter into a contract, he added.County administrator Josh Wilson said he had spoken with county Sheriff Jeff Edds, Sr. and learned that no county deputies were interested in participating.