The only disagreement evident at Tuesday night's public hearing on restricting through truck traffic on Virginia 116 over Windy Gap Mountain was how short the trucks should be.

A few dozen people showed up for the Virginia Department of Transportation hearing at Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Roanoke County, an informal affair at which residents could see aerial maps, predicted "off-tracking" or drifting in turns for various lengths of trucks, and explanations of the process of restricting them.

Numerous VDOT and Roanoke County staff members were on hand to answer questions as individuals and small groups examined the documents.

The Roanoke County and Franklin County boards of supervisors last fall asked the state to limit the size of trucks that can use the road as a shortcut from Virginia 122 in Franklin County to Sunnyvale Street in Roanoke County.

Both boards asked that the state prohibit vehicles longer than 28 feet from using the highway as a through route. A VDOT engineering study, however, later concluded that the highway should be safe for vehicles up to 46 feet long.

Roanoke County Supervisor Mike Altizer, who represents the Vinton District where the road lies, was at Tuesday's public hearing and said he'll be traveling to Richmond to push for the shorter limit when the Commonwealth Transportation Board considers it, probably this fall.

Trucks banned from using the 12.7-mile stretch would add an estimated 22 miles and 32 minutes to their travel time by being diverted to U.S. 220.

The ban would not apply to trucks making deliveries or pickups on the highway.

The dominant theme among those checking out the exhibits Tuesday was safety.

Bobby Scruggs has lived on Virginia 116 -- also known as Jae Valley Road and Jubal Early Highway -- for 42 years, almost half his life.

While conditions have improved since signs recently were put up warning truckers of hazardous road conditions, Scruggs said a prohibition has long been needed.

"If it saves lives, that's what we want," the Franklin County resident said.

Britt and Faye Smith now live on Pitzer Road, which connects to Virginia 116 in Mount Pleasant. But for years they traveled across the mountain each day to the Coopers Cove community.

Britt Smith said he was content to let the experts decide which length was appropriate -- "You have to trust somebody" -- but that it was past time that something was done.

Roanoke County and Franklin County had already begun the process of penning petitions and setting up public hearings on the restrictions last September when a truck hauling cattle overturned, slid across the oncoming lane and off a steep embankment.

Fifty-eight of the 88 cattle died, and traffic was blocked for more than a 12 hours, drawing dramatic attention to the road's hazards.

But neither residents nor state and local officials believe simply counting the number of wrecks shows the true danger.

VDOT materials handed out Tuesday noted that the highway carries an average of 4,200 vehicles per day -- with only 1.5 percent being tractor-trailers.

A Roanoke Times examination of traffic and wrecks on the stretch between 1998 and 2008 shows that in 375 crashes, a total of 562 vehicles were involved. Only six of those -- about 1 percent -- were tractor-trailers.

Altizer, however, said that while the numbers may seem small, when one takes into account the severity of those crashes, and the massive inconveniences of rerouting traffic for hours at a time, they become more disturbing.

And 33-year Windy Gap Mountain resident Sue Rourke argued that she and countless others have been involved in untold numbers of close calls.

"Yes, the trucks in these instances may have made it up or down the mountain without getting stuck," but not without putting residents at risk of their very lives, she wrote in remarks prepared for the hearing.

She also argued that simply posting the size limit won't be enough. Each locality will have to strictly enforce the changes for them to be effective, she said.

VDOT will continue accepting comments on the proposed restrictions through Sept. 10 at its Salem District Office at 731 Harrison Ave.

They will be passed on to the transportation board, along with the district's recommendations.

Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed to this report.