Albemarle County‘s plans to finish the Eastern Avenue Corridor in Crozet included a road connecting Route 240 and Route 250 with a bridge over Lickinghole Creek, which would bisect the rich wildlife habitat on Crozet nature trail.
More than 400 concerned wildlife enthusiasts signed a Change.org petition and encouraged Albemarle County to rethink its plan so that wildlife are taken into serious consideration.
The petition description called out the county for previously expressing pride in public as responsible environmental stewards while soliciting bids to build the bridge without a protected wildlife and pedestrian corridor in the bridge’s design and breaking promises made in the county’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
“The importance of preserving a wildlife corridor along Lickinghole Creek corridor is apparent to anyone who enjoys the Crozet trails,” Crozet United stated in the petition description with photos of a black bear and her three cubs crossing the area where the road and bridge were planned.
A protected bridge overpass will allow wildlife like the black bear family to safely cross what will become one of Crozet‘s busiest roads. The Crozet Community Association (CCA) introduced a resolution on May 8 to the board of supervisors encouraging County Executive Jeff Richardson to immediately take action.
Concerned Crozet residents are still encouraged to attend CCA’s next meeting at 7:30 p.m. on July 10 in the building behind the basketball courts at Claudius Crozet Park at which a final vote on the resolution will be taken and an update received from White Hall Supervisor Ann Mallek.
Without an underpass or safe wildlife crossing, residents are afraid vehicle-animal collisions and long-term disruptions to local habitats will increase in the area. Their concerns come amid national conservation efforts to balance suburban growth with ecological prevention.
“Preserving the unique wildlife in this area is essential to maintaining the character of Crozet and Western Albemarle,” shared Renee, a petition signer. “We can have sustainable growth side by side with environmental and wildlife protections.”
In a May 23 note posted on the petition description, Crozet United shared a message from Albemarle County supervisors: “We are going to take additional steps to ensure that there is a wildlife corridor requirement in the RFP. We are going to add an elevation on the plans to show openings in spans for wildlife. We are also going to add a statement from federal guidance that the bridge shall also serve as a wildlife passage.”
Crozet Gazette reported that officials in Richardson’s office said in March the county had set aside $17.3 million for its share of funding for the connector, but the RFP states a maximum contribution of $14 million will be necessary from the county. An engineering consultant firm in late 2020 recommended that the best path for the 3,000-foot connector and bridge was over Lickinghole Creek. The RFP period will end in May, then the county expects a 60-to-90-day period for proposal responses. The county hopes to close the procurement process in August 2025 and complete construction by June 30, 2028.
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Rebecca Barnabi
