VDOT announces Culpeper residency closure

Orange County will soon be a part of the Warrenton residency due to changes proposed by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The Culpeper residency, which currently serves Orange County, and the Louisa residency will soon be closing as a part of the changes.
Due to a $2.6 billion shortfall in transportation revenues over the next six years, VDOT is working to save millions statewide in order to make their proposed 2009-2010 budget. VDOT officials presented their proposed budget to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) last week. The board will approve the budget during their June meeting. They only approve the budget, not the means that will achieve the budget, which in this case will be things like the residency closures.
Officials are proposing maintaining their 189 area headquarters, meaning the headquarters in Culpeper will remain operative and the maintenance shops in Rhoadesville and Gordonsville will remain open; reducing the 73 equipment shops to 37, with the Culpeper shop remaining open and the Orange shop closing; consolidating six transportation operations centers into five; reducing eight materials laboratories into five, with the Culpeper lab remaining open; and reducing the 44 residencies into 29, with the residencies in Culpeper and Louisa closing. Those serviced by Culpeper, which includes the counties of Orange, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Culpeper and Madison, will become part of the Warrenton residency. Those serviced by the Louisa residency, which includes Albemarle, Greene, Louisa and Fluvanna, will become part of the Charlottesville residency. The changes aren't expected to overtly affect citizens.
"Residents should not see much difference [in service] because the area headquarters will stay where they are and that staff will stay where they are," VDOT Public Relations Manager Lou Hatter said. "Some services will move [like] land planning, permitting work and entrance permits but we don't know where they'll be issued yet."
Three of the equipment shops will also stay open and will be spaced throughout the state.
"[A] shop will be on the south end, the district headquarters will be in the center and the Warrenton district shop will be in the northern [area]," Hatter said.
The biggest concern and focus will still be placed on snow and ice removal. None of the changes are expected to affect that area.
"We specifically targeted other areas [for cutbacks]," Hatter said.
The Culpeper lab will also be taking on more work left over from other labs closing. The lab is where materials are tested in order to ensure that they meet the specifications set forth by the projects utilizing them.
"We've been doing some work for other districts," Hatter said. "Culpeper is staying open and will be serving several districts [including] Northern Virginia (NOVA) and Fredericksburg."
With the closures come questions about staffing including how many, if any, will be without jobs.
"The consolidation of the residency offices don't necessarily mean that those positions will go away," Hatter said. "The staff hasn't been determined [as to] how they'll be affected."
The first closures are expected as early as December. The closing of the residencies alone is expected to save $1.5 to $2 million annually, not including personnel reductions.
"More information will continue to come out [as we move towards that time]," Hatter said.
For up-to-date information on the changes in VDOT as they occur, visit www.virginiadot.org.