The Danville Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), staffed by the West Piedmont Planning District Commission (WPPDC), will re-submit a grant proposal this year requesting funds for the second phase of the connector road at Berry Hill.
The first phase of the connector road, which is currently under development, is necessary to accommodate additional transportation demand driven by employees and freight traffic associated with the Southern Virginia Mega Site at Berry Hill. This Mega Site, comprising approximately 3,500 acres – and having access to natural gas, other utilities, and freight rail – is among the largest industrial sites on the East Coast. The site is located in southern Pittsylvania County, just to the west of Danville.
The Danville MPO applied for $78.3 million in Smart Scale funding in 2022, which is the same program the MPO will re-apply for this year, though the funding amount will likely change. Smart Scale is a transportation funding program specific to Virginia, which “scores” projects based on how they are likely to impact several factors including Economic Development, Safety, Accessibility, Congestion, and the Environment.
The first phase of the connector road, which is currently under development, will extend from Berry Hill Road (Route 311) about two miles east to Danville Expressway (US 58/29) at the existing interchange at Oak Ridge Farms Road. An existing portion of Berry Hill Road will be integrated into the connector road, given that Berry Hill Road serves as the main access point for the Mega Site.
A 2018 transportation planning study commissioned by the MPO recommends that the two-lane connector road, currently under construction, be widened to four lanes upon the Mega Site reaching 5,000 employees. While the site currently awaits one or more tenants, the 5,000 employment figure could occur quickly. For example, an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer nearly chose this site for a facility that would have employed approximately 8,000 workers; a site near Savannah, Georgia was chosen instead, with the Mega Site as the second choice. According to the study, the Southern Virginia Mega Site could accommodate up to 11,500 workers at full build-out.
In addition to the widened connector road, the application will request funding to replace the current interchange at the Danville Expressway and Oak Ridge Farms Road to a much larger interchange, enabling the transportation system to accommodate the higher traffic volumes generated by the Mega Site. The purpose of the connector road is to serve as a direct linkage from the Mega Site to the Danville Expressway, the absence of which would require excessive volumes of traffic to utilize local roads to access the expressway.