Locals Only

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted 5-2 to not pursue naming the county's portion of Route 1 after fallen Virginia State Trooper Jessica Cheney. 

The Board of Supervisors was going to request the Virginia State Superintendent Gary T. Settle petition the Commonwealth Transportation Board in Richmond to advocate renaming the road in Cheney's honor. However, a vote to table the issue was presented by Garrisonville District Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer, stopping the renaming in its tracks.

Cheney gave her life in the service of Virginians. At 23, only two years after becoming a trooper, a car collided with Cheney at a work zone on Route 1 at the Stafford Courthouse on January 17, 1998. The county had considered renaming the four-lane road after Cheney in response to a bill by Rep. Joshua Cole (D-Stafford, Fredericksburg), passed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam, to rename the roadway from Jefferson Davis Highway, which honors the president of the confederacy. Portions of Route 1 that have not already been renamed, or jurisdictions that don't petition the state for their own name, will have their portion of the road automatically named Emancipation Highway.

During Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, residents took to the podium to voice their opinions regarding the renaming of Route 1 after Jefferson Davis, saying they agreed with renaming the highway, but none could agree on what to rename the road. 

Those who spoke in favor of naming the road after Cheney touted her accomplishments as the first woman to become a member of the Virginia State Trooper and wanting to honor her memory.

Some residents however were against renaming the section of Route 1 after Trooper Cheney citing the recent actions of police last year during the summer protests done in the name of Minneapolis resident George Floyd who had died while under arrest due to a knee pressed against the back of his neck by former Minneapolis police officer Officer Derek Chauvin, who is now on trial for Floyd's death.

They mentioned that the trooper already has an overpass bridge that was named in her honor in 1999. The overpass carries traffic on Route 610 over Interstate 95.

Rock Hill District Supervisor Crystal Vanuch started the push to rename Route 1 after Cheney in March. 

The County still has until 2022 to choose a new name Route 1. Initially, the Board floated the name Richmond Highway, which has already been adopted by Prince William and Fairfax counties.