$203 million U.S. 29 recommendation unveiled

Albemarle County:

“A Rio Road interchange and extensions of Berkmar and Hillsdale drives form the heart of a $203 million plan unveiled Thursday as a first step toward unclogging Albemarle County’s main artery. Former Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Philip Shucet presented the package with a request for buy-in from a 10-member advisory panel tasked with finding solutions for the decades-old problem of congestion on U.S. 29. The state’s transportation board must approve the plan, and local officials also must sign off before the work can begin. Among its features:

• $43 million to complete projects included in the county’s Places29 plan
• $81 million for a Rio Road interchange and a total $145 million for new construction
• $10 million for preliminary engineering on a Hydraulic Road interchange”

~Writes K. Burnell Evans of the Daily Progress

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U.S. 29 options still face hurdles

Albemarle County:

“The road to a recommendation on how to unclog Albemarle County’s main artery is paved with big bucks, political turns and stubborn unknowns. A 10-member advisory panel formed earlier this year at the directive of state Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne meets this week for a fourth and final time to discuss how to alleviate congestion on U.S. 29, a riddle that’s lingered for decades.

Looming large over the talks is the prospect of so-called grade-separated interchanges at Hydraulic and Rio roads, both part of two big-ticket concepts being considered by the advisory committee. Those ideas have splintered groups once united – local business leaders and their peers in Lynchburg and Danville, many of whom favored the 6.2-mile Western Bypass of U.S. 29, a $244.5-million project killed earlier this year by the feds.

Panel members from out of town and the Southern Environmental Law Center favor the interchanges, but area business leaders fear the impact. Colorful diagrams presented to the panel do not depict the destruction local businesses could expect to endure, said Charlottesville Area Regional Chamber of Commerce President Timothy Hulbert.”

~Writes K Burnell Evans of the Daily Progress

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Cameras to be Installed along Emmet St. to Improve Traffic Flow

City of Charlottesville

“Charlottesville City Council on Monday approved the installation of cameras to keep an eye on traffic flow along Emmet Street, and many drivers say the extra eyes are worth a quicker commute… Council's solution to fix the backlog is the installation of InSync cameras from a private company called Rhythm Engineering. ‘There's the idea of timing, computerized timing, then this goes a step further,’ city councilor Kristin Szakos said.

The cameras will analyze traffic to improve the flow. In the city, the target is mostly on Emmet Street heading into Albemarle County's Route 29. The board of supervisors in the county will consider the cameras, too, as this is a joint venture among the city, county and Virginia Department of Transportation. ‘It actually analyzes the traffic coming in from side streets at different times of day to make sure the flow is working for all traffic, not only on the main street, but also what's coming in,’ Szakos said.

The intersection of Barracks Road and Emmet Street is among the places the cameras would be installed. They'll be perched on top of light poles.”

~Writes Chris Stover of the Charlottesville Newsplex

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Chambers of commerce along U.S. 29 corridor endorse Western Bypass

Albemarle County

“The chambers of commerce in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Danville and Roanoke have sent a letter to Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Lane expressing support for the Western Bypass of U.S. 29. In the seven-page letter released today, the regional chambers said maintaining the project’s momentum is essential to Virginia’s long-term highway safety and economic development.

‘We respect the views of those citizens and organizations who have expended their energy opposing the project, but they are inaccurate in their assessment of the value and need of the project,’ the letter stated. ‘The facts are clear: The U.S. 29 Western Bypass will improve transportation safety and access, and the environmental impacts can and will be managed properly.’

The letter is endorsed by Timothy Hulbert, president of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce; Christine Kennedy, executive vice president of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce; Laurie Moran, president of the Pittsylvania-Danville Chamber of Commerce; and Joyce Waugh, president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

As planned, the bypass would be 6.2 miles long and cost about $244 million. The letter says more than 20,000 people work in jobs on or along the current U.S. 29 corridor in the Charlottesville region.”

~Writes the Daily Progress

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