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VDOT to hold Route 727 improvements public hearing

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road-work-headerThe Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing concerning improvements to Route 727 (Airport Road) in Rockingham County.

The meeting will take place from 4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at Turner Ashby High School, 800 North Main Street, Bridgewater, VA 22812. In the event of severe inclement weather the hearing date will beOctober 23 in the same location at the same time.

Citizens can come in during the meeting hours and discuss the project on a one-on-one basis with VDOT officials and designers. Written comments can be submitted at the meeting or within 10 days after the meeting date to Mr. Justin Beaver, Project Manager. Virginia Department of Transportation, 811 Commerce Road, Staunton, VA  24401-9029. Oral comments can be recorded at the meeting with the assistance of a court reporter

The project is located on Route 727 (Airport Road) between Route 698 and Route 696 in Mount Crawford, Virginia, approximately two miles southeast of the Town of Bridgewater. The project is 0.35-mile in length with limits from 0.42-mile west of Route 11 to 0.77-mile west of Route 11. Route 727 is approximately 3.1 miles long running west to east connecting Route 42 and Route 11. This road serves private residences with a private, commercial airpark. The Bridgewater Air Park is approximately 0.40-mile west of the project.

The purpose of this project is to reconstruct Route 727 in order to fix a sharp curve with poor sight distance and widen the roadway to Route 698 (Wise Hollow Road) to increase safety.

A bridge replacement project to the east of the project location was completed in December, 2013. The proposed project will tie in to the bridge replacement project.

Route 727 is classified as a Rural Major Collector. The proposed project will feature two, twelve-foot travel lanes with a five foot shoulder. Of the five foot shoulder, four feet will be paved. The road will have a 50 mile-per-hour design speed due to its classification.

Currently, the road carries 1,443 vehicles per day. This number is projected to increase to 2,245 vehicles per day by 2037. There is no existing bicycle or pedestrian accommodations and the road is not part of an identified bike route.

During construction, the road will be reduced to one lane under flagging operations at points where the proposed design overlaps the existing roadway.

The total estimated cost for this project is $1.760 million, including $375,846 for preliminary engineering, $345,000 for right of way and $1.039 million for construction.

The VDOT Staunton District serves Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke, Warren, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, Alleghany and Bath counties.

Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511. Traffic alerts and traveler information also are available at 511Virginia.org. For other assistance call the VDOT Customer Service Center, available 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Citizens can dial 1-800-FOR- ROAD (1-800-367-7623) from anywhere in the state to report road hazards, ask transportation questions, or get information related to Virginia’s roads.

The Staunton District Twitter feed is at @VaDOTStaunton. VDOT can be followed on Facebook, Flickr, Twitterand YouTube. RSS feeds are also available for statewide information. The VDOT Web page is located atwww.VirginiaDOT.org.

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