Eco-Logical Pilot Project - Free Bridge Congestion Relief

Charlottesville/Albemarle Region

“The US 250 link across the Rivanna River known locally as Free Bridge. This bridge is a key connection for local and regional traffic, but continued use of this link will result in more congestion, economic development and public safety issues that must be addressed. Regarding congestion, there are currently 53,000 vehicles per day on Free Bridge and the overall level of service is an F. The MPO's travel demand model estimates that Free Bridge will have a daily traffic volume of approximately 70,000 vehicles a day in 2040, making Free Bridge's already failing level of service 25 percent worse.

The Eco-Logical process is an ecosystem based approach to developing infrastructure project alternatives. The approach differs from the typical approach by encouraging the evaluation of environmental considerations during the planning phase of a project prior to the point at which a project would normally go through NEPA review*. The process fosters interagency cooperation, as well as stakeholder involvement, in the development of new infrastructure. The goal of the process is to collaboratively develop project ideas in an effort to address significant impacts early on in the project development process.”

~TJPDC

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