Commonwealth Transportation Board awards Route 29 Solutions contract

The Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded Lane/Corman Joint Venture the $116.7 million design-build contract to improve the Route 29 corridor in Albemarle County.  Lane/Corman will widen Route 29 between Polo Grounds Road and Towncenter Drive, extend Berkmar Drive from Hilton Heights Road to Towncenter Drive, and construct a grade-separated intersection at Route 29 and Rio Road.

The design-build team is comprised primarily of three companies: Lane Construction Corp., of Chantilly, Corman Construction Inc., of Chesterfield, and engineering firm RK&K of Richmond.

“Governor McAuliffe and his administration are focused on building the right transportation projects for the right reasons,” said Secretary of Transportation Aubrey L. Layne Jr. “These projects, and the rest of the Route 29 Solutions projects, will provide real safety improvements and real congestion relief for everyone who uses this corridor. The award of this contract is a major step toward delivery of these critical highway improvements.”

Preliminary engineering began in June of 2014 and final design will be completed by the design-builder.  Lane/Corman’s contract includes the following:

• Rio Road – utility relocations begin in May and roadway construction begins this coming fall.  Click herefor a rendering of what the improvements will look like. Drive through the project.
• Route 29 widening – utility relocations begin this summer, followed by roadway construction.
• Berkmar Drive extension – roadway construction begins in the spring of 2016.

The contract providing the three projects above has a fixed completion date of Oct. 30, 2017.

The Route 29 Solutions program includes eight highway projects to improve safety and increase mobility along the Route 29 corridor in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. In addition to the design-build contract, adaptive signal technology is being installed at 21 intersections on the corridor, Hillsdale Drive will be extended south to Hydraulic Road, the Route 29/250 interchange project has been awarded and construction begins this month.  Preliminary engineering will be done to recommend improvements to the Route 29/Hydraulic Road intersection and an additional extension of Hillsdale Drive. The initiative also fully funds a second daily passenger train between Lynchburg and Washington, D.C.

For more information go to www.Route29Solutions.org.