VDOT updates Fairground Road extension plan in Goochland County

VDOT’s updated plan for the Fairground Road extension puts a long-sought east-west connector on a clearer path between Sandy Hook Road and River Road West, with the strongest local impact likely felt by drivers moving around Goochland Courthouse Village, Goochland High School and the stretch near Goochland Elementary School. The project is designed to give traffic a more direct route to Route 6, relieve pressure on Sandy Hook Road, and create a safer, more predictable path as development continues around the county’s civic core.

The extension would run 0.2400 miles from a point 0.076 miles west of Route 522, where a roundabout is planned at Sandy Hook Road, to a new intersection at River Road West. VDOT says the alignment would provide more direct access to areas north of the project and add development space to the east and south while minimizing wetland impacts. The current plan also adds an eastbound left-turn lane on River Road West, a change that should help vehicles entering and leaving the corridor once the road opens.

The road design shows how much the county expects traffic patterns to shift. The project calls for two 11-foot through lanes, a 13-foot two-way left-turn lane that tapers near Route 6, a 5-foot sidewalk on the east side, curb and gutter, and a 12-foot eastbound left-turn lane on Route 6 at the new intersection. In practical terms, that means a more structured route for school runs, commutes and short trips through the Courthouse area, with less dependence on the busiest parts of Sandy Hook Road.

The extension has been part of Goochland planning since the 1980s, and county officials approved it in 2016 to open access to central parcels. The need for change has been tied to safety and congestion for years: the Fairground and Sandy Hook intersection was ranked No. 8 on the county’s top 10 accident sites, and VDOT recorded 13 crashes there between 2012 and 2016, with 27 crashes in the broader study area. A June 2017 traffic study by Kittelson projected a significant drop in peak-hour traffic on Route 6 between Sandy Hook Road and the future extension as drivers shifted to the new link.

The project has also moved through changing budgets and schedules. County material once estimated total costs at $3.8 million, while a 2023 update put the budget at $7.6 million, with Goochland contributing $5.4 million and VDOT $2.2 million. The latest county planning documents now show construction beginning in fall 2027 and finishing in early spring 2029, a later schedule than the spring 2026 bid and fall 2026 start once anticipated. The extension is being planned alongside the separate Fairground Road and Sandy Hook roundabout project, which would build a single-lane roundabout and extend Fairground Road about 400 feet west of Sandy Hook Road, turning the corridor into a larger traffic reconfiguration rather than a single road project.