The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), in partnership with the City of Harrisonburg, seeks feedback on a transportation study assessing potential solutions on Route 42 (Virginia Avenue) between Gay Street and the Harrisonburg city limit.
The study will focus on identifying measures to encourage lower speeds, improve safety for turning movements, and enhance multimodal connectivity, including for pedestrians. The study will evaluate alternatives to preserve throughput on the two-lane segment from Gay Street to Edom Road, identified in the Harrisonburg Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan as being over capacity in the future. The corridor also has barriers to use for biking and walking to destinations such as nearby activity centers and the transit connections used for travel throughout the city and beyond, each of which will be considered.
VDOT invites residents and travelers to learn more and take an online survey available May 5 to 19, 2025. Community input received through the survey will help the study team identify existing issues along the study corridor and develop recommendations for potential improvements that will be evaluated and presented during the next phase of the study, which will include another opportunity for public comment.
Comments may also be sent to [email protected] or to Brad Reed, Virginia Department of Transportation Staunton District, 811 Commerce Road, Staunton, VA 24401-9029.
VDOT and Harrisonburg Public Works will also host an open house for the study on Tuesday, May 6 in two location/timeframe options to attend where the community may share their experiences, thoughts and questions related to traveling the area.
The open house location/time options include:
1 to 2:30 p.m. at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) Detwiler Auditorium, 1501 Virginia Avenue
4 to 5:30 p.m. at Harrisonburg City Hall – Room 11, 409 S. Main Street
The study is conducted as part of the Project Pipeline program, which was created by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB). Project Pipeline is a performance-based planning program to identify cost-effective solutions to multimodal transportation needs in Virginia. Project Pipeline is led by Virginia’s Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI), in collaboration with VDOT and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).
The study is expected to be completed in summer 2026, but does not set construction dates for improvements. The study will recommend projects, solutions and investment strategies that may be considered for statewide funding programs such as SMART SCALE, Revenue Sharing and Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), as well as regional and local funding sources.
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Rebecca Barnabi
