To the Editor:

As a safety proponent of the Highway 58 Corridor, I would like to further accentuate one important item left from the recent article on the Highway 58 Study report given by Mr. Tommy Catlett at the December Southampton County Board of Supervisors meeting. This in no way reflects on the TN reporter as the speaker’s microphone in the meeting room was almost inaudible as the report was being given, and left most in the audience questioning the reported results of the study.

This following “study results” comment, as shown below can be found on Page 15 (52 page report) at the following link from the Southampton County website:

http://www.southamptoncounty.org/MediaArchive/PDF/BOS%20AGENDA%20-%20DECEMBER%202018/No.%206%20-%20Highway%20Matters.pdf

This comment states:

Study Results and Recommendation: Per Hampton Roads District Administration, the Speed Limit on this segment of roadway shall be reduced to 50 MPH.

After initially bringing a life-threatening school bus/tractor trailer speed and safety issue at the Food Lion Stoplight in June, 2015 to the Southampton County Board of Supervisors attention, many others joined in the concerning, concerted effort to make our highway safer. The committee gathered momentum and nearly 1,600 signatures of those who interact by living, traveling and working on Highway 58 were included in our efforts. Finally, and most importantly, after 3.5 years of diligent efforts, alarming safety concerns, and unattended pleas to our Board of Supervisors — we began working closely and alongside with the VDOT Administration, who listened — not once but many times, and we began seeing an active effort to make the roads safer for us all. As everyone knows, the Highway 58 Corridor is multi-purpose and so valuable to the economic welfare of Southampton County, but also an integral part of the transit system of Virginia as a whole.

A follow-up conversation this past week with VDOT has confirmed the speed limit will be reduced and signs will be posted to that effect in the next few weeks. Thank you Franklin Residency and Hampton Roads VDOT for caring and listening!

Working together does make things BETTER for all of us. As an added note, we would like to thank The Tidewater News, especially Stephen Cowles, for giving us superb reporting coverage for the last several years.

Linda Daughtrey Simmons
Courtland