FRANKLIN—Part of Rose Valley Road will blossom by summer when it gets both an upgrade and expansion, though at no cost to Southampton County. The purpose is to serve the industrial park, said Mike Johnson, county administrator.

The project will improve 2,379 feet of the road starting from its intersection with General Thomas Highway and going just past the entrance to Enviva Pellets Southampton LLC.

The existing road has 18 feet of pavement and a 30-foot prescriptive right of way.

“We’re going in and structurally rebuilding it,” Johnson said. He added, “..the existing roadway has limited, if any, base material beneath the pavement – that’s why it’s breaking up under the weight of the current truck traffic. The new and improved roadway will be designed to accommodate the heavy trucks that will access the Industrial Park – it will consist of 8 inches of aggregate base material (21B stone), 4 inches of asphalt concrete base, and a 2-inch asphalt concrete finish coat.”

The project will also include clearing and grading an additional right of way, paving for asphalt parking, building a storm water retention pond, and making drainage improvements, signage and pavement markings.

Once completed, the roadway will have 32 feet of pavement, which includes two 12-foot travel lanes, one in each direction, and 4-foot paved shoulders on each side. There will also be sloped ditches with a 70-foot right of way. A full-length right-turn lane to get into Enviva Way will also be created.

The project has been awarded through bidding to Curtis Contracting, and will cost $1.38 million. The money is funded by the state.

“We expect Curtis Contracting to mobilize by the third week of May and achieve substantial completion by the first week of August,” said Johnson.

Train tracks belonging to CSX will be affected by the work, and that company will take care of its part; the estimated cost is $100,000.

Property needed for the improvements came from three owners, said Johnson, who added that no county funds were used.

n Carolyn and Mills Edwards – 0.394 acres for right of way and 0.341 acres for utility easements – $13,833;

n St. Luke’s Lodge No. 279 – 0.39 acres for right of way and 0.234 acres for utility easements – $30,639;

n Lemuel and Shelby Ricks – 0.877 acres for right of way and 1.04 acres for easements – $36,596;

Offers to buy the property were done in mid-January.

“We’ve closed on the Edwards and St. Luke’s Lodge properties,” Johnson said. “A petition for condemnation and certificate was filed for the Ricks property. This was authorized by resolution of the Board of Supervisors following a public hearing on Feb. 24.

The vote then to acquire the land was 6-0. Supervisor Dr. Alan Edwards was unable to attend.

“The offers for compensation were based on appraisals by a VDOT-certified appraiser, reviewed by a second VDOT-certified appraiser and the property was purchased with state funding set aside by VDOT in their Secondary 6-year Plan,” said Johnson.

“The project is a state project that is being locally administered, and the county is functioning as a conduit for the state in administering the project.”