The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is undertaking a new road expansion plan to alleviate the traffic jams so familiar to Charlottesville residents using Route 29.
The effort will add two "rear frontage roads" running parallel to Route 29 North behind the existing strip malls and roadside businesses, effectively increasing the number of lanes from four to six.
The planned expansion would stretch about three miles from the nameless bridge over the south fork of the Rivanna River north to the junction of Route 29 with Route 649 known as Airport Road.
The new lanes would allow travelers to access parking lots at stores such as Sam's Club from the rear, reducing the number of cars on the four main lanes of traffic and improving traffic flow for commuters during rush hour, according to VDOT assistant resident engineer Melissa Barlow.
The project is now in the preliminary engineering stages, and VDOT is working to secure funding and the right-of-way privileges that would allow it to begin construction on the additional lanes.
"The time frame [for the project's completion] is about six years," said Barlow, although she added that it was difficult to set future completion dates with so many steps and potential problems.
Charlottesville traffic often reaches a near standstill during morning and evening rush hours, when commuters heading in and out of the city jockey for position with shoppers patronizing the stores and restaurants that dot Route 29.
Other VDOT initiatives to alleviate traffic include the Meadowcreek Parkway, a planned two-mile road connecting Rio Road with the Route 250 bypass in Charlottesville.
The road is nearing implementation after years of debate in the City Council and rancorous opposition by environmental advocates and Charlottesville residents opposed to city sprawl.
Route 29 stretches from Northern Virginia to the North Carolina border near Danville and is a common route for University students travelling to Washington and points south.
Other plans for road improvements on Route 29 are in the works, according to VDOT official Bill Guiher. The department is now soliciting public opinion for a plan to manage and restrict access to 29 from smaller roads running east and west to improve traffic flow.
The section of the Route 29 corridor that would be affected by the plan runs from the junction with Interstate 64 south of Charlottesville to the North Carolina border.
No money has been programmed for the project awaiting the outcome of public meetings and engineer's reports, Guiher said. VDOT will hold a public meeting for interested citizens at Amherst County High School in Amherst on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m., he said.
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