Incorrect Sign Marks Roanoke River Crossing
By Harvey W. Powers
October 18, 2010

A recently erected Virginia highway sign says it's the Staunton River, not the Roanoke River, that makes up Lake Gaston.  The sign was placed there by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and appears at both ends of the bridge that caries Interstate 85 over the lake.  In addition to naming it the Staunton River, the sign says it's part of the Roanoke River Basin and that it is "a scenic river."

There's only one problem. It's not the Staunton River. It's the Roanoke River.  The Staunton ends about 20 miles upstream, just above Clarksville at its confluence with the Dan River.  

Admittedly, the river's names can confuse. At the headwaters and down thru Roanoke, to about Back Creek, it's the Roanoke River. Then in the middle, it's the Staunton River. And from Clarksville, thru the John H. Kerr Reservoir, Lake Gaston and Roanoke Rapids, all the way to the mouth of the river at the Albemarle Sound, it's the Roanoke River again.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries says the name "Staunton River" is only correct for an 81 mile stretch that ends at its "confluence with the John H. Kerr Reservoir. " That means, at the point the river flows through Lake Gaston, it is unquestionably the Roanoke.  

Where did the sign come from? And who decided the bridge crosses the Staunton River?

A spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Highways says it's not their fault. The sign came not from them but from the Department of Conservation and Recreation. VDOT's Dawn Eischen says there have been "several inquiries" suggesting the sign is wrong. She says those inquiries have been forwarded to Conservation and Recreation officials.

A spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Gary Waugh,  says he's looked through that department's database and can find no "watershed" sign that marks the Staunton River. He says the records show the sign at Interstate 85 near Bracey should say "Roanoke River."  So, Waugh says, "...it looks like it's mistaken."

After more than two weeks of searching the department's records, Waugh says he cannot explain how the mistaken sign got placed on the bridge. He speculated that perhaps it replaced an earlier VDOT sign that said "Staunton River." (It didn't. The earlier sign said simply "Lake Gaston.")

Asked if the sign would be corrected now that the error has been discovered, Waugh says "probably not." He says money for the 300 priority "watershed  signs" has been spent. What would it take? He says the first step would be for the locality (Mecklenburg County) to make a formal request.