VDOT reintroduces resident engineer, outlines signal timing fixes and offers quarterly briefings

Philip Frazier, the newly assigned VDOT resident engineer for the Asheboro (district) residency, reintroduced himself to the Goochland Board of Supervisors on July 1 and outlined several near-term operational actions and a proposal for a more intentional county–VDOT partnership.

Frazier said he will reach out to County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley and make quarterly presentations that focus on grant opportunities, winter preparation and resurfacing priorities, and that he welcomes board direction on the level of detail the county wants in regular maintenance reports. He told the board he plans to be “intentional and specific” about priorities and suggested varying the frequency of updates depending on the board’s needs.

On operational items, Frazier reported that traffic signal detection camera viewports were adjusted at the Broad Street/Wilkes Ridge signal to include the full left-turn lane and restore normal cycle progression, and that traffic-operations staff modified yellow-arrow timing at one Rockville Road intersection to reduce a conflict that had led to close calls. He said the district has applied a short delay to the opposing through movement so flashing-yellow-left movements do not end at the same instant opposing traffic receives green.

In response to supervisor questions, Frazier said the term “significant wait times” used in VDOT comments is not a formally defined metric within the residency report; he explained how queues and service times are measured (peak‑hour analysis) and noted that long queues that move quickly do not always meet thresholds for an engineering change. He also told the board his staff will re‑observe Rockville Road segments where residents have reported crashes and will follow up on resurfacing and “washboarding” complaints on local roads such as Rock Castle and Ben Lamont.

Supervisors raised other operational concerns: mower crews leaving grass clippings on pavement, irregular trash along Whitehall Road, and an increase in oversized farm equipment that sometimes requires travel in the travel lane. Frazier said mailbox offset standards are generally determined by the U.S. Postal Service and that VDOT does not maintain a uniform mailbox-offset policy, but he agreed to research the county’s historical practice and report back.

Frazier closed by asking the board to tell him whether they prefer monthly maintenance reports or a different cadence; several supervisors encouraged quarterly, more-targeted briefings focused on projects and grants.

No formal board action was taken; supervisors asked staff to follow up on resurfacing schedules, mowing calendars and camera settings.