by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor 
  Residents and legislators attending Monday’s Virginia Department of Transportation meeting to discuss VDOT-planned closures of maintenance facilities statewide questioned where the savings will come from in the plan and asked the commissioner and Commonwealth Transportation Board to reconsider its implementation.
  VDOT recently announced it would be closing area headquarters at 91 locations statewide. One of those closures planned is in Buchanan County at Big Rock. Under the VDOT plan, 12 employees there will be shifted to Oakwood or Deskins and that section of the county will be worked from those facilities. The Big Rock facility will still be kept by the department for salt storage.
  At the hearing held Monday night at Southwest Virginia Community College, far Southwest Virginia residents spoke highly of VDOT employees and the work they do to keep the road system maintained and open during periods of inclement weather.
  Sen. Phillip Puckett said he had questions about what VDOT has referred to as it business plan or business model and added VDOT’s plan sounded more like a corporation looking to downsize. According to the maps and data provided, he said it appeared Southwest Virginia was bearing a disproportionate share of the downsizing effort.
  “Almost 30 percent of what is happening is west of the New River,” Puckett said.
  He suggested the action planned was in an area of the state which because of its terrain is the most difficult to serve.
  Earlier in the day, Commissioner David S. Ekern and Bristol District representatives visited Buchanan County to give Ekern an opportunity to see firsthand what Buchanan County roads are like and the kind of distance between the Big Rock and Oakwood facilities.
  The majority of speakers in attendance Monday were there to speak out against the planned closures of the Big Rock maintenance facility in Buchanan County; the High Point facility in Russell County; and the Tazewell facility in Tazewell County. Additional closures projected in Southwest Virginia include those at Broadford and Sugar Grove in Smyth County; Jonesville and a salt storage facility in Lee County; Glade Spring and the Rt. 712 storage lot in Washington County; Nickelsville and Fort Blackmore’s old facility in Scott County; Rocky Gap and the Crandon storage lot in Bland County; Coeburn in Wise County; Baywood, Elk Creek, the Rt. 58 storage lot and the Volney storage lot in Grayson County; and the Phillips Storage facility on Rt. 11, the Rt. 717 storage and the Fort Chiswell facility in Wythe County. Dickenson County, which only has one office at Fremont to serve that entire county, is not targeted for consolidation.
  Closing Big Rock, High Point and Tazewell facilities, speakers suggested would leave long sections of roadway unattended at some the critical times in the snow removal process and further, they said it would seriously impact response times for other maintenance issues that come up from time to time.
  Del. Bud Phillips, who also asked VDOT to reconsider the plan, stated plainly that if VDOT moves forward with it, he will be one of the legislators to co-sponsor legislation blocking the department from ever implementing the plan.