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Route 29-Rio Road intersection project completed on time, within budget

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route 29The Route 29-Rio Road grade-separated intersection was completed Friday, meeting its fixed completion date and finishing within the $69.7 million project budget.

“Completion of the Rio Road grade-separated intersection project represents a major milestone in the improvement of the Route 29 corridor in the Charlottesville region,” said Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne. “It is also an example of how transparency and community involvement in the project development and delivery process adds value. The recommendations from the advisory panel lessened the impacts to traffic during construction and resulted in a project that is not only functional but also aesthetically compatible with the surrounding streetscape.”

Design of the project began on March 4, 2015 when Lane-Corman Joint Venture received its notice to proceed on the design-build project. Relocation of underground and overhead utilities started soon after and was completed in January of this year.

Construction of the grade-separated intersection began in August 2015. Most of the work was done at night, with major lane closures between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. That work continued through the winter with minimal disruptions due to winter weather events.

On May 23 the Rio Road crossover was closed for a planned 103-day period when the bridge across Route 29 was to be built and the retaining walls and through lanes constructed. Working around the clock, six days a week, crews with Lane-Corman completed the bridge and through lane construction in 57 days. The intersection was reopened to traffic on July 18, 46 days ahead of schedule.

“The partnership between VDOT and Lane-Corman, as well as the cooperation of Albemarle County, the nearby businesses and neighborhoods and the community at large, were instrumental in the success of this project,” said VDOT Commissioner Charles Kilpatrick. “Without the involvement of the businesses and the community – and their understanding for the inconveniences they experienced – we would not have attained this successful outcome.”

Since the intersection reopened to traffic the contractor continued nighttime work to complete the project, including final paving, staining the concrete retaining walls to resemble dry-stacked stonework, installation of the pedestrian crosswalks and signals, and landscaping on the bridge deck and median of Route 29.

Construction of the remaining Route 29 Solutions improvement projects continues. Those projects, which will improve safety and increase mobility along the Route 29 corridor in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, are the Berkmar Drive Extension, widening Route 29 between Polo Grounds Road and Hollymead Town Center, and extension of Hillsdale Drive from Hydraulic Road to Greenbrier Drive. Information about upcoming lane closures and other traffic impacts, as well as news about the projects, is posted on the Route 29 Solutions web site on the News and Traffic Alerts page.

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