ROCKY MOUNT — For nearly 40 years, Vandel Muse says she has heard nothing but hollow words from local leaders promising to take action to help his small community in Franklin County.
Countless local leaders have looked into the issues that plague Muse and other residents living along a portion of Diamond Avenue in Rocky Mount. So far, no one has provided a solution to their multiple concerns.
More than 100 residents live in the tight-knit community with only one exit. That exit requires crossing an aging, wooden bridge as well as railroad tracks that can become blocked when a train crosses or even stops sometimes on the tracks.
These are not new problems. Many of the community's elderly residents such as Muse have been asking for help for much of their lives. Over the years, the town and the county have offered little more than what they see as kind words and quick fixes.
"We need it done yesterday," Muse said. "They are doing everything else in Franklin County, but they're not doing anything over here for us."
Muse and the Rev. Charles Hancock, now deceased, led efforts to help the the community in the past along with other residents. Some of those efforts resulted in minor fixes like some repairs to the bridge in 2008.
Even then, those repairs were said to be an "interim fix" by the Rocky Mount town manager at the time.
Sandra Smith has lived next to the bridge for more than 30 years. The wooden bridge clanks and shakes each time a vehicle passes over. Many drivers slow to a crawl when crossing due to its age.
Even at the slow speeds, bolts screwed into the wood beams of the bridge loosen with each pass. Smith said more and more of those bolts have fallen out of the bridge over the years, leading her and other residents to question its safety.
"I literally almost go to a stop when I drive over the bridge," Smith said.
Work crews from the town of Rocky Mount visited the community earlier this month and replaced some of the bolts and made other fixes to help with the noise. Smith said she is thankful for the work the town was able to do, but it is still not enough.
Smith said her community should receive the help they need after decades of asking for it. It has been a concern for so long, she said, many of the residents who first took on the issue years ago have since died, leaving another generation to continue the fight.
"We've always hear how they are working on it," Smith said. "They say they are going to get it done. They are going to put in another road out. They are going to fix the bridge. We have heard that so many times it is ridiculous. It should not take 60 years to fix a bridge or put another road in."
Most recent efforts
The troubled community of that section of Diamond Avenue was originally just outside of the town. Their requests were heard by the Franklin County Board of Supervisors.
Supervisors have discussed providing some assistance to the community in recent years, most recently with a proposal to construct an access road from Diamond Avenue to nearby Sycamore Street for emergency vehicles if the exit was blocked.
Mike Carter, the board's Rocky Mount District representative, said he worked to provide an access road for the residents sometime after joining the board in 2018. Ultimately, he said, the board chose at the time not to move forward due to the high cost to construct the road and obtaining the necessary easements and property for the construction.
In 2024, efforts were complicated further when Franklin County and the town agreed to a boundary adjustment that moved the community clearly into town limits. The change was part of a larger agreement between the county and town that included negotiations over a fire truck and use of the town's wastewater treatment plant capabilities for use at the county's Summit View Business Park.
Even with the change of the community into the town, Carter said he still wants to help the residents however he can.
"I'm willing to do whatever I can to help my constituents in the Diamond Avenue community," Carter said.
The town took up the effort to find a solution for the Diamond Avenue community in 2025 by requesting $13.5 million in funding from the state as part of its legislative agenda. Of that, $7.5 million would go to the construction of an access road, $1 million would go to improvements to the bridge and $5 million to extend the town's water and wastewater services to the community.
The $13.5 million request was not approved in the recently adopted Virginia budget, but Mayor Holland Perdue said the town will once again place the funding request on its legislative agenda with the hopes it will be approved this year. Without funding from the state, he warned that fixing the problem could take some time.
"Without the help from Richmond, it's a task that takes a bit longer," Perdue said.
One concern of Smith and other residents is the weight limit of the bridge and if larger vehicles such as fire trucks can cross the bridge if there is a fire or other emergency. While the town's fire trucks do exceed the weight limit of the bridge, Perdue said they are able to cross and enter the community.
Perdue said the bridge can handle the weight of the fire trucks for occasional crossings in an emergency. It is just not built for vehicles that size to cross on a regular basis.
Rocky Mount is currently setting aside funding for the bridge and access road as part of the town's long-term capital improvement plan. Perdue said it will likely take some time to get enough funds in place for the project and it will require funding assistance from the county as well.
The Franklin County NAACP has also recently gotten involved in the project. The organization formed a committee last month to assist in bringing attention to the community. They joined several residents in speaking at this month's Rocky Mount Town Council and Franklin County Board of Supervisors meetings asking for assistance.
Muse said it shouldn't take decades for the county or the town to find the funding to help his community. He mentioned other projects the localities have funded including the millions spent to build Summit View Business Park.
"The money they spent out there," Muse said about Summit View. "With that they could have built us an exit."
There is another concern that many Diamond Avenue residents have as to why they have been overlooked over the years. The community predominately consists of Black residents.
"It definitely is," Muse said of race being one of the reasons they have not gotten another exit or a new bridge.
Smith agreed.
"What else could it be?" Smith asked. "We pay taxes just like everyone else. Why not use some of that money to help this community?"
Perdue said he has heard those concerns, but is adamant that Rocky Mount is working hard to address their needs now that this community is part of the town. This issue is something he plans to pursue into his next term with his council members, if he is reelected.
"We are not going to let go of this issue," Perdue said. "We are not going to stop talking about this until it gets done."
Perdue said a fix could take some time, but the town will continue to work for a solution.
"This isn't going to take another 60 years," Perdue said. "We are gonna figure this out."
