Mountain Roads

[JQofPA]

Interesting question--Is anybody familiar with the back roads in Scott County, VA? I went to drive by a property I'm interested in there, and the road was so narrow that you have to pretty much drive in the middle, and there are places where I could swear if you wanted to pass another vehicle you would have to pull halfway off onto the shoulder. Is this true or am I exaggerating? I wonder what the protocol is for avoiding collisions, what with the many hills and blind curves, other than going slowly, of course.

[jabogitlu]

Sounds like many roads where I grew up in Greene County. These're one lane roads, not two, so there really isn't "a middle" to drive on. Yep, on the off chance you meet someone, just pull over to the side and let them pass. Or they will you.

[rccrain]

I once lived near a one lane road like this. Typically, the driver that had been on the one lane road for the longest distance gets the unofficial right of way. This is complicated by the fact that you can be unsure of exactly how far the road goes and how long the other vehicle has been traveling. So if I were unfamiliar with the road in question, I'd pull over.

[rccrain]

Also if you ever come to a one lane tunnel on a two lane road where you cannot see the other vehicles entering, it can be daunting to decide when to "shoot the gap". In this scenario, I beep the horn twice and proceed cautiously.

This situation occurs at least once between North JC and Sulfur Springs. See here tunnel - Google Maps. (on the small road off to the right) There used to be one in Colonial Heights, but eventually, they red lighted it.

[jabogitlu]

There's a really bad one in North JC that wasn't red lighted until a few years ago. They really need to widen the tunnel but it's a railroad... difficult to do I'm sure.

[bigbike4]

A little further south (30 miles) of the tri cities area is Rogersville. We have a great local hospital, nice roads, quaint old city and some very nice resturants for fine dining-Hale Springs inn just reopened for lunch and dinner, the Sweet Tooth Cafe is open for lunch, Route 66 resturant for steaks and such and then there are the old standards of Oh Henrys and the one over in the Plaza 66 shopping center whose name escapes. We are about a 40 minute drive up 11W to the Tri cities region. We have a great views of the mountains. And I myself am originanally from PA. so trust me when I say the winters down here we get about a TOTAL of 8-10" of snow per year. yes we may get some cold temps in January and February for overnight lows, but they never last long-3 to 5 days at a time, then more seasonable temps. Nothing like what most of us from the North East go thru in fall/winter. Heck by early spring we are putting in Tomatos, while those up north are planting root crops

[bigbike4]

Originally Posted by JQofPA

Interesting question--Is anybody familiar with the back roads in Scott County, VA? I went to drive by a property I'm interested in there, and the road was so narrow that you have to pretty much drive in the middle, and there are places where I could swear if you wanted to pass another vehicle you would have to pull halfway off onto the shoulder. Is this true or am I exaggerating? I wonder what the protocol is for avoiding collisions, what with the many hills and blind curves, other than going slowly, of course.

Many of the smaller more rural roads of this area are just like that. But they are few and as more development occurs, look for those few remaining hold outs to get widened. Protocal is simple-if you observe a vehicle coming the other direction, and you can pull off the road to wait for it to pass-like in a driveway, or along the narrow shoulder-do so. This is how life has been done for generations. Common courtesy.

As for the blind turns and going slow, of course. Those type roads were originally horse and wagon paths to get back to the original farm, that may or may not even be there anymore. And most of us "older" drivers know to take it slow 5-10 mile per hour. when driving that type of road. Expect the unexpected and you will be fine. Even that type of road is pleasurable to me, who came from bumper to bumper traffic, noise 24 hours a day and crime in the northeast. I will gladly tolerate somone driving too fast for a road for a brief instance then have the problems I lived with for the first 49 years of my life!

[JQofPA]

Glad to know the winters are milder than in PA (southeastern?). And thanks, everyone, for the explanation about one-lane roads. I didn't think it was my imagination, but no one believed me. I'll try and stick to about 10 miles an hour. The thing is, that most of the time on this road you couldn't see very far ahead. But one-lane tunnels--Yikes! I hope I never encounter one of those! We have one-lane bridges in PA, but they're short, and you can see what's coming.

And please don't mention increased development! I'm hoping that if I buy this place it will stay pretty much the way it is, although I wouldn't mind if the real estate values went up just a hair--so I don't end up eating dog food in my old age!

[jabogitlu]

The majority of Scott County, VA is probably pretty safe from major increased development for the next 75-100 years, man. I think you'll be just fine.

As for one-lane tunnels, the ones that aren't stoplighted are short and act as a simple two-way stop. You can always see what's coming.