LYNCHBURG, Va. – Gladys Road, near Perky’s restaurant, on Route 29 in Campbell County is one of the most dangerous roads to cross in the Lynchburg District.
10 News reporter Magdala Louissaint watched a video of a truck carrying a car on its bed, drive into a ditch just to avoid hitting another driver.
“The white car is turning without looking, and this truck goes over the bank; so he won’t hit him,” Gay Perkins said.
Perkins shared surveillance video with 10 News of at least two dozen crashes they’ve seen across the street.
“He was lucky he didn’t hit those trees,” Perkins said while watching the video.
Two years ago, Virginia Department of Transportation officials did a safety study on route 29, starting from Lynchburg’s airport to Route 24 Village Highway
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve. We’re trying to implement low-cost improvements that create those safe environments,” Lynchburg District Planning Manager Rick Youngblood said.
Six months ago, VDOT put flashing lights near the intersection to warn drivers of other cars in the area, but that's not enough.
VDOT leaders say, on Tuesday, they'll need public input.
“We want to make sure that those folks understand that conceptually we’re looking at the same thing as we talked about years ago. We’re incorporating those into this study,” Youngblood said.
Officials say they’ll also update the community on what changes are coming and proposed recommendations.
“And so you’re going to see as opposed to one or two large projects, you’re going to see 40 or 50 smaller projects along the corridor,” Youngblood said.
On Wednesday, VDOT wants to hear from everyone, not just people who live or own businesses along this stretch of 29, but people who travel on this busy corridor every day.
The meeting will be held at VDOT’s Ramey Memorial Auditorium, 4303 Campbell Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24501 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.