Editor, Gazette-Journal:

The neighbors of Sandbank in Mathews County would like to thank the Gazette-Journal for being a true hometown newspaper that looks out for the welfare of the citizens of Mathews and Gloucester counties. We would particularly like to thank reporter Sherry Hamilton for the excellent coverage of the VDOT road project at the end of Route 602. The state road was washing away with the asphalt breaking off in large chunks. The road would flood all the time, not just during severe weather. All of us were concerned that, if needed, emergency vehicles could not enter our community. Also, we feared that someone unfamiliar with the problem of erosion under the highway would drive over the edge and damage their vehicle, or worse, hurt themselves.

We tried for several years working with VDOT to stop the deterioration of the state highway to no avail. We even wrote to the State Highway Commissioner for assistance. Finally, after years of frustration and lack of communic...