If you’ve ever visited Settlers Market you’ve probably experienced a bump in the road.
Literally.
The intersection of Settlers Market and Casey boulevards in James City County is currently paved with cobblestones that bounce and jar vehicles who tiptoe through the intersection.
Good news for motorists: the cobblestones will be removed and the intersection will be paved over in November.
“The cobblestones are too tall for the area and the (VDOT) standards and not something that performs like a typical street section,” Assistant County Administrator Jason Purse said. “We are looking at more of a traditional paving.”
The cobblestones were originally placed by Settlers Market’s original developers, but had since drawn complaints from the residents of the townhomes on the surrounding streets. It was a refrain Jamestown District Supervisor Jim Icenhour heard often while canvassing for his current seat on the county Board of Supervisors last year.
“If I heard anything, I heard cobblestones,” Icenhour said. “That was probably the most frequently-mentioned thing in that specific area.”
Icenhour and neighbors gathered in early October for a “rock bashing,” where they began removing the first cobbles from the intersection in what amounted to a reverse ribbon cutting.
The removal and repaving work is being done by Norfolk-based Excel Paving Corporation, said Barry Moses, capital project management engineer. When asked for comment, Excel directed WYDaily to Moses.
Depending on the weather the work will likely begin in the second week of November, Moses said, and it’s expected to take seven working days.
The project will cost the county just under $50,000, Moses said, largely for materials and crew salaries.
During the work traffic will be diverted around the intersection, and signs will tell drivers where to go.
Residents of the surrounding townhomes will still be able to park at their homes during construction, Moses said.
“Everybody’s car thanks you,” Icenhour said at a county meeting last month.
