Gloucester County residents flocked to Petsworth Elementary School Monday night for a public meeting hosted by VDOT on the possible construction of a Restricted Crossing U-Turn or RCUT intersection at the intersection of Woods Cross Roads. Many residents attended the meeting to voice their opinions about the construction of the RCUT.

The meeting served as a way for the Virginia Department of Transportation to gain public input and educate the community on the project. At the meeting VDOT provided educational resources including a large conceptual diagram of the intersection spread out across tables.

VDOT Communications Manager Kelly Hannon said about 120 people came to the meeting. She said a lot of people were curious as to what a RCUT is and why one is being recommend instead of installing traffic lights.

The RCUT project is VDOT’s recommended solution for reducing the number of collisions at the intersection, which is notorious for crashes. RCUTs restrict the flow of traffic from secondary roads by allowing drivers to turn right only. Those wishing to turn left or cross the intersection will instead merge with traffic before making a U-turn at a designated location farther down Route 17.

The RCUT is a $4 million project that would be funded with SMART Scale funding. The SMART Scale program funds projects that are innovative traffic solutions. Traffic lights would not be eligible for SMART Scale funding, though an RCUT is.

Traffic lights are considered by VDOT a conventional intersection which has a total of 32 conflict points or locations where the paths of cars diverge. RCUTs have 18 conflict points and have proven to be effective in other localities.

The submission of the project to be included in Gloucester’s six-year SMART Scale plan was approved by county supervisors during its July 5, 2022 meeting. However, the project itself has not been approved nor has any funding for the project been approved.

Currently the project is sitting in a completely conceptual state said VDOT’s Saluda Residency Administrator Lee McKnight. He said no engineering or planning will occur until the project receives Commonwealth Transportation Board approval and SMART Scale funding. All of the diagrams being used to convey the project at this time are conceptual and no exact plans for the project have been developed.

McKnight said a lot of the concern he heard from the public during the meeting was in regard to Duttons Grocery and how the RCUT would affect it. The entrance to Duttons Grocery is located at the intersection and there is concern from locals that the RCUT will restrict access to the store and in turn hurt the business.

While McKnight said that all comments made by the public are taken seriously, it is too early in the process to accurately describe what the RCUT would look like once completed and its impact on any business. He said if the time comes for engineering and planning to occur, one of the priorities will be to minimize the impact the RCUT would have on the store.

Hannon said the project is still in its early stages and the diagram people have seen is only meant to inform the community. She said if the RCUT is approved the public will have more opportunities to comment on the project. Currently, members of the public can submit comments on VDOT’s website until April 6. She said as the project progresses, updates will be posted on the project’s webpage.