Bedford devises roundabout to ease traffic near D-Day memorial

The city of Bedford could be in store for its first roundabout to ease traffic flow in a heavily traveled area near the National D-Day Memorial.

The road junction is planned at the intersection of Burks Hill Road and Roberts Lane, said Heidi Coy, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Salem District.

Tiger Trail, a lane that carries traffic into Bedford Elementary School, would be realigned to tie into the road upgrade, she said.

“It’s mainly to ease congestion in that area,” said Coy.

The project would cost $3.4 million and would be financed through some combination of local, state and federal dollars.

The project comes at a time when the city of Bedford and VDOT are struggling financially.

The need to save money has led city officials to look into the possibility of reverting to a town. Bedford officials voted in 1968 to change the locality’s status from a town to a city, which at least one current City Council member said was a mistake due to the city’s small geography.

State transportation revenues, meanwhile, are also expected to decrease by up to $2.6 billion over the next six years, officials revealed last month.

VDOT recently put up a traffic signal just south of the proposed roundabout, where westbound traffic on U.S. 460 turns onto an upward ramp toward Virginia 122. The price tag was just under $186,000 — Coy said the city’s share was 2 percent, which came close to $4,000.

The signal at the interchange from U.S. 460 onto Virginia 122 was needed to help with a high volume of traffic heading to Smith Mountain Lake, said City Manager Charles Kolakowski.

Growth on the corridor, which includes a planned Hampton Inn near the U.S. 460 ramp, led the city to push for the traffic improvements, he said.

Speed through the proposed roundabout would stay at 25 mph.

“We’re not proposing to change that,” said Coy.

VDOT is taking comments on the preliminary stages of the plan from the public and will review them before working with the city to move forward, she said.