Rio Road -- Construction of a round about intersection at the current stop light controlled intersection JWP and Rio (click here for link to Albemarle County Gov page re Rio Road corridor plans). In early 2022 it was decided that this project would be accelerated and construction could begin in 2023. We will need to keep an eye on the plans for this but any kind of slowdowns of traffic during construction will likely lead to increased cut through traffic into our neighborhood off Rio Rd. As a generality at least it seems that people cutting through likely are: (1) in a hurry to make there "short cut" pay off; (2) not so familiar with our neighborhood roads and blind spots and pedestrian crossings; and (3) not invested in keeping traffic safe and "calm" passing through our neighborhood.
It will probably be wise for us to seek at least temporary increases in traffic enforcement and potentially putting up for instance temporary stop signs on our thoroughfares both to discourage cut throughs and slow them down. The neighborhood advocated and got these measures when Rio was completely shut down for several months to revamp the curvy part of the road.
Grove Road In 2023 it appears Grove Road is due to be resurfaced and the sidewalk will be repaired at the same time.
Hydaulic Area Plans As part of the plans to improve the flow of traffic along Rt 29 VDOT and area planners are looking at revamping the Hydraulic / Rt 29 Interchange and are in the process of taking comments and holding public hearings on what should be done. The City and County submitted a plan for a grade separated interchange at Hydraulic and Rt 29 but it was not a project that was accepted for state funding in the 2019 Smart Scale prioritization project. In 2021 the local governments submitted a smaller scale of improvements to Hydraulic which was accepted for funding. It has no over/underpass by Hydraulic of Rt 29 but installation of Traffic Circles at Hillsdale and District Ave - aka Stonefield Shopping Center main entrance off Hydraulic) along with some proposed improvements at the Brandywine and Michie Dr entrances that could help getting out and getting into those roads. See proposed plan with this link.
VDOT actually already has $24 million in the bank to make improvements to traffic flow in the area and are collecting citizen input and hope to have a contract in place at the end of 2022 and potentially for construction to begin by the end of 2023.
The GNA has advocated with VDOT and City leaders to include as part of this large project the widening of the sidewalk between Michie Dr. and Brandywine. A wider path would be much safer for pedestrians and bicyclists including school children on Michie Dr. who as of 2022 need to get themselves to Walker without a bus ride as an option. This section of sidewalk is also part of the planned multi-use path running along Meadow creek all the way from the JWP to Morton Dr. behind the English Inn. (see our web page devoted to the plan) The widening of this section would also match the planned expansion between Brandywine and Rt 250.
Older History of Planning For the record it is worth noting that during the prior planning process planners held a public meeting with our neighborhood on May 30, 2017 to get input from us Among the Concerns and issues residents brought up at the meeting were:
Hydraulic / Brandywine intersection (very bad entry and exit problems. Also nighttime visibility)) Hydraulic / Michie Dr. intersection (very bad entry and exit problem contributing to overall problems with traffic flow in the area) Protecting and enhancing multi-use trail connections Making sure planned multi-use trail connections under Hydraulic and Rt 250 happen and aren’t negatively affected by any new road changes. Making a good and safe pedestrian bike connections on Hydraulic and/or elsewhere to allow crossing of Rt 29 to the Stonefield shopping center area
At the 2017 meeting the VDOT representatives said the first order of business was creating a 40 year land use plan so that any transportation solutions are made with an eye towards the future. At a series of meetings they prodded the audience to try to envision what we would (and would not) like to see develop - land use wise over the next decades – e.g. what would we like to see develop where the K-mart was located, or where Dominion Power, or even where Kroger is located. Some suggested that it would be nice to have coffee shops and other small businesses within walking distance, once the nice trails are completed. The representatives asked us what we thought of multi-story mix use/residential buildings and some people indicated that probably made sense in such a commercial area as long as the buildings weren’t too tall and it did not create more of a traffic problem for us. Some people also expressed concern about noise coming from any potential redevelopment of the land in the Hydraulic area. Residents of Brandywine noted that they could hear live music from Stonefield Shopping Center when that happened a few times last year.
Of course changes to development are really going to largely be up to private developers regardless of what is in the plan, but I guess the plan could help inform City officials on zoning or what to approve. In any event, VDOT et. al. are continuing to collect comments on its planning and if you have any they can be submitted to Lou Hatter at [email protected] This VDOT small area land use plan was "completed" at the end of 2017. The next steps are traffic studies and proposed improvement plans.
In the Spring of 2018 the planning group decided that the plan to submit to the State was one with Hydraulic going under Rt 29. In addition, the plan calls for a round-about at Hydraulic and Hillsdale Dr. and also a round-about on the Stonefield side of Hydraulic at the District Ave entrance into Stonefield shopping center.
The Plan also calls for Hillsdale to be extended between Kroger and Virginia power to connect to Rt 250, which then would necessitate the closing of the current off ramp from Rt 250 onto Rt 29 next to the Country Inn / Days Inn.
Unfortunately, at this point there was still no help in the plans for Brandywine / Hydraulic Intersection other than a new option for turning left out of Brandywine will be just turning right then reversing yourself at the round-about at Hillsdale.
Fortunately, the newest plans in 2022 do propose some further design help for the entrance to our neighborhood from Brandywine / Hydraulic.
If you have any comment on the planning efforts send them to Lou Hatter at [email protected]
Dairy Road Bridge Repair 2017 - Replacement on the Horizon
In the summer of 2017 the Dairy Road bridge underwent significant repair work. As part of the repair the existing side walk was removed and it was replaced by a 10 foot wide pedestrian bridge. Apparently, the sidewalk that had existed was added to the bridge some years after the bridge was built and the sidewalks weight was stressing the bridge. By removing the sidewalk the useful life of the existing bridge has been significantly extended. Work was completed in early 2018. In 2022 the City received funding for a full replacement of the Dairy Road Bridge and it is expected this might happen in about 2025
Melbourne Bridge
In the Spring of 2021 the City began major repairs on Melbourne Road's bridge over the railroad tracks. The repairs have required closure of one lane of the bridge at a time while it is being rehabbed. Initially, a traffic light allowed alternating flow of traffic but when CHS opened in the Fall of 2021 it was decided that it was best to simply close the bridge to traffic coming from the JWP / Park St. direction. The bridge fully reopened, however, several months later.