Hillsville By Pass on U. S. 58 Groundbreaking-Oct. 22nd
October 26, 2007
October 22, 2007 It was a historic day in Carroll County, VA when the groundbreaking was conducted to begin construction of the U. S. Route 58 bypass around Hillsville, VA.
Getting from Hillsville to Interstate 77 will eventually take you less time.
Monday marked the groundbreaking ceremony for the Route 58 Bypass around Hillsville. Several state and local leaders were all on hand for the occasion.
The new 5.2 mile road will connect Route 58 to I-77. The total price tag is about $83 million.
As reporrted by WDBJ TV, Channel 7, Roanoke, VA
HILLSVILLE — Even as shovels turned the earth Monday for the symbolic beginning to the construction of the Hillsville bypass on U.S. 58, a few of those with the hard hats and shovels had their minds on projects at Lovers Leap or in Grayson County.
Still others among those scores of people who turned out despite
overcast and a slight drizzle wondered about the more immediate future — like how big a part will local subcontractors play in the $83 million project, a nearly 5.3-mile stretch of a four-lane highway that will run on Hillsville’s south side.
Will Karbaugh, president of road contractor Branch Highways — the
company that signed an agreement to build 36 miles of U.S. 58 between
Hillsville and Stuart, as monies become available from the state —
attempted to address that question in his remarks.
Those grabbing golden shovels for the groundbreaking ceremony — held off Snake Creek Road, just east of Hillsville — included legislators who represent parts of Carroll County in the Virginia General Assembly,
local government officials and representatives from Branch Highways, the Commonwealth Transportation Board and Virginia Department of
Transportation.
Pierce Homer, Virginia’s secretary of transportation, officiated the
event. The drizzle seemed to hurry the event along, as state and local
officials kept remarks brief. A VDOT press release provided some remarks from Pierce. “The construction of the Hillsville Bypass is an important step in the completion of the expansion of Route 58 as an east-west connector,� he said in the statement. “The completion of this corridor will not only benefit the people of Hillsville, but as this project moves forward, it will bring increased economic opportunities to this area of the state.�
The press release also quoted David Ekern, the commissioner of VDOT.
“I am pleased that we are moving ahead with the next phase of the Route 58 improvement,� he said. “The construction of the Hillsville Bypass will provide motorists with increased mobility and safety in the
Hillsville area.�
Branch — the same contractor that built a three-mile section of U.S. 58
at Meadows of Dan — will carry out the construction at Hillsville, as
agreed to under a public-private partnership with VDOT. Will Karbach,
president of Branch, expects clearing of the construction corridor,
going from west to east, to begin within a few weeks.
Connecting the coalfields to the coast with a four-lane highway should
help the economies of the communities along the corridor, Pierce noted.
“It’s part of a long-term plan to connect this region to the rest of the
commonwealth and, importantly, the economic vitality that’s happening to the east and the west of here,� he said at Monday’s event. “This is so
indispensable to this region. It would not have happened without the
absolute persistence of your state legislators and your local
officials.�
Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (D-Henry County), pronounced it a great day for the Twin Counties and Southwestern Virginia. He credited governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine for putting money for the Hillsville bypass and other projects into their budgets, and commended those on the Senate Finance Committee and colleagues in the
General Assembly for supporting those efforts.
“As important as it is that we’re doing this today, I promise you that I
am committed and I am going to do everything that I can to try and see
that 58 [expanded to] four lanes from Stuart to Hillsville is next on
the agenda,� he said. Virginia House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong (D-Martinsville) hoped this would be the first of many more groundbreakings as the state works toward the goal of four-laning the highway all the way from Interstate 77 to the port at Norfolk.
In addition to the legislators, Armstrong credited people in the
audience and others with moving the project along by being vocal about
the need for the improvements along 58 from an economic development standpoint. “We don’t get to do anything in politics unless the will of the people is behind us,� he said.
Del. Bill Carrico (R-Fries), thanked Armstrong and Reynolds for letting
him turn the dirt outside the 5th District. “Dirt can be turned in my
district eventually.�
He had looked forward to work starting on the Hillsville Bypass so the
state can move closer to beginning U.S. 58 improvements in his district.
“I realize that this affects people in my district also for economic
purposes.� Orba Alderman of Hillsville Town Council said locals have been looking forward to this day for a long time, and they appreciate all those who had a hand in it. Karbach, said that with previous 58 projects under Branch’s belt at Danville and Meadows of Dan, the company officials understand the importance of the “vital link, linking all of Southwest Virginia to the ports and creating a means of having a safe transportation system for our kids and grandkids.�
He said Branch has a good history with this kind of work, bringing in
the first such private-public partnership in this region on time and
without a single change order.
During this project, 4 million cubic yards of earth will be excavated
over the more than five miles of the construction zone. (It will also
take 270,000 tons of aggregate, 100,000 tons of asphalt, eight bridges
and two box culverts to complete, Karbach later told The Gazette.)
“In anybody’s book that is a very large project,� he said.
Branch officials are looking forward to “turning over the keys in 2011,�
he noted.
“I hope that Carroll County and Hillsville are proud to add this roadway
into their system,� Karbach said. Hillsville Bypass facts from the Virginia Department of Transportation:
• The $83 million project involves constructing a new 5.2-mile section
of U.S. 58 in Carroll County around the Town of Hillsville. The new road
will improve the connection between U.S. 58 and Interstate 77.
• The western end of the bypass will be located 0.1 mile east of Route
714 (Old Galax Pike), and the eastern end will be located 0.1 mile west
of Route 820 (Freemont Road). The completion date is Nov. 1, 2011.
• Gov. Tim Kaine and the Virginia General Assembly approved a state
budget in April 2007 that included funding for the new U.S. 58
Hillsville Bypass.
• Branch Highways Inc. of Roanoke will build the bypass under a
public-private partnership agreement that the Virginia Department of
Transportation entered into in December 2003. Under this agreement,
Branch will design, build and widen 36 miles of the U.S. 58 corridor
between Hillsville and Stuart as funding becomes available from the
state. Branch Highways completed the first segment of U.S. 58 widening
under this agreement in Meadows of Dan in spring 2006.
• The new four-lane road will provide two 12-foot travel lanes in each
direction with paved shoulders and a grassy median.
• Three new interchanges will be constructed as part of the project: one
at each end of the new bypass to connect to U.S. 58 business and one at U.S. 52. The project also entails building eight new bridges, including
one to carry Route 780 (Howlett Street) over the new bypass and a pair
to carry U.S. 58 over Route 670 (Snake Creek Road).
• To construct the new bypass, the contractor will move approximately
4.5 million cubic yards of rock and dirt, place approximately 85,000
tons of asphalt, lay about 30,000 linear feet of drainage pipe and put
down approximately 100,000 tons of stone.
• U.S. 58 is Virginia's longest roadway, stretching 508 miles from the
Atlantic Ocean to the southwestern tip of Virginia. The Virginia General
Assembly established the Route 58 Corridor Development Program in 1989 to enhance economic development potential across this largely rural portion of the state.
