DATE: Saturday, July 12, 1997               TAG: 9707120279

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: COURTLAND                         LENGTH:   58 lines

OVERPASS NOW SPANS DANGEROUS INTERSECTION

Dana Jackson's 8 1/2-year civics lesson began with a summons to the principal's office in fifth grade.

Would she, her Courtland Elementary School principal asked, please write a letter to the Virginia Department of Transportation and ask them to fix the dangerous intersection of Route 58 and Route 35, which is on the school's bus route?

Dana agreed.

``It was one of those things you couldn't refuse,'' she said.

After numerous phone calls, petitions and a few appearances by Jackson before the Transportation Board, the problem was resolved Friday, nearly a decade later, with the opening of an overpass at the busy intersection.

Amid silk ribbons and shiny ribbon guardrails, Gov. George F. Allen dedicated the new $3.5 million interchange in the Southampton County town of Courtland.

The 258-foot, three-lane overpass eliminates the traffic signals that once brought motorists to a quick stop on a 55 mph stretch of Route 58.

It is the latest improvement to the road once dubbed ``suicide strip'' for the frequent accidents along its narrow lanes.

Route 58 carries substantial traffic from Hampton Roads, as commuters, truck drivers and vacationers rush to connect with Interstate 95 in Emporia.

Before the improvements, both sides of the intersection had rumble strips and flashing lights alerting motorists to slow down for the upcoming traffic signals.

Despite the signals, 35 accidents, 46 injuries and 3 deaths have occurred at the intersection since 1992, according to VDOT statistics. Before that, traffic on Route 35 was halted by a pair of stop signs - which residents complained were often ignored.

Max Porter, a Southampton businessman, lobbied to have the spot fixed for several years. He was appointed to the Transportation Board by Allen in Feb. 1994, and improvement plans were in place soon after.

``With the public schools so near, it affects everyone in the community,'' Porter said. Southampton Middle and High Schools and the Vocational Center are at the southwest corner of the intersection.

State trooper Sgt. Gregory A. Jackson, Dana Jackson's father, said he handled three fatal accidents at the intersection. His wife, Cindy, teaches at Southampton Middle School, and his youngest daughter will soon ride the school bus past there.

``I have vested interest,'' he said.

When Dana Jackson was in the ninth grade, she testified before the state Transportation Board about how her close friend was nearly killed in an accident at the intersection.

Now a sophomore at Longwood College, Jackson said she was glad to come back and see the improvements: ``I actually helped do this.'' ILLUSTRATION: JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Dana Jackson spoke Friday at the dedication of the new overpass that

takes Route 58 over Route 35 in Southampton County. Jackson first

asked the state to do something about the intersection 8 1/2 years

ago, when it was a standard crossroads governed by stoplights.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu