The latest iteration of the Longhill Road expansion plans — created with public input — would have the road expand to four lanes between Route 199 and Centerville Road.
The final of four public meetings on the Longhill Road Corridor Study took place Thursday evening at New Zion Baptist Church. About 50 citizens turned out, including several people who have attended multiple meetings.
Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., the design firm tasked with developing a planned expansion, presented a plan developed with the public input that has been provided since October in mind.
The biggest change to the plans since the last presentation at a Feb. 21 public meeting is a full four-lane expansion. Previously the plans showed the road expanding to four lanes between Route 199 and Ford’s Colony Drive and to three lanes from Ford’s Colony Drive to Centerville Road.
With four lanes, the road would have a sidewalk on one side, multi-use path on the other, a median planted with trees and wide outside driving lanes intended to be shared with bicyclists. The entire expansion would be about 117 feet wide.
Expanding the road to four lanes between Ford’s Colony and Centerville Road had been an obstacle because houses, New Zion Baptist Church and a cemetery dot the roadside. The solution came from the public: Move the road.
Kimley-Horn took the suggestion and routed a section of Longhill Road — near Ford’s Colony Drive at one end and Burlington Lane at the other — around the houses and cemetery through the woods. The existing Longhill Road would be left in place so residents could still access their homes and church.
Another proposed change to the plan, which would add a connector road from Lafayette High School to Seasons Trace, drew ire from some citizens.
With the planned four-lane expansion, some intersections will be changed. A traffic light is proposed for the Seasons Trace intersection, and the main entrance to Lafayette High School is designed to allow drivers to turn right only when leaving the school. Drivers who want to turn left would either have to turn around on Longhill Road or pass through to the Seasons Trace traffic light.
A meeting took place earlier this week with Seasons Trace residents, who were concerned about what might happen if high school-aged drivers were routed through the neighborhood. A few Seasons Trace residents turned out Thursday and expressed the same concerns.
Another firmer plan from the February meetings was putting in a roundabout connecting to Plantation Drive and a shared driveway for Wellspring United Methodist Church and King of Glory Lutheran Church. The February plans left an option for a roundabout or a four-way intersection.
Kimley-Horn staff spoke to citizens Thursday to gather any final thoughts on the proposed road expansion. The company will post information from the meeting to the Longhill Road Corridor Study website and then will draft and finalize a report on the information gathered. The report will be presented to the county’s Planning Commission Policy Committee and Board of Supervisors before going through the approval process.
The Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the plans, which will then be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision.
Supervisor Kevin Onizuk (Jamestown) was at the meeting Thursday, and he was impressed with the plan.
“I think this looks like a very promising design and I’m most excited because it was developed with a significant amount of public input,” Onizuk said. “The citizens I spoke with seemed pleased with the design and appreciate that their input was considered.”
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