Route 29 /Emmet Street lane shift will allow construction in median strip

Traffic on Route 29 (Emmet Street) between Hydraulic Road and Morton Drive will be shifted to the outside of the current pavement on Wednesday and Thursday nights to allow construction of an additional southbound lane in the median strip.

The speed limit on Emmet Street between Hydraulic Road and Earhart Street will be reduced from 40 miles per hour to 35 mph to provide greater safety for motorists and construction crews within the work zone. The reduced speed limit will be effective Thursday morning for southbound traffic and on Friday morning for northbound traffic.

The southbound traffic shift will be done beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday and will be completed by 6 a.m.Thursday. The switch of northbound traffic will be done between 9 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday.

On Wednesday night, during the Route 29 south traffic shift, the following ramps will be closed:

• Route 29 south to Route 250 west (detoured to continue south on Route 29, turn right onto Barracks Road and use Barracks Road/Route 250 intersection)
• Route 29 south to Route 250 east (continue south on Route 29, turn right onto Barracks Road and use Barracks Road/Route 250 intersection
• Route 250 East to Route 29 South exit ramp (continue east on Route 250 to Hydraulic Road intersection, turn left and left again at Hydraulic Road/Route 29 intersection)

During the northbound work on Thursday night the following ramps will be closed:

• Route 29 north to Route 250 east on ramp (traffic detoured to continue north to Hydraulic Road, then to Hydraulic Road/Route 250 intersection)
• Route 250 east to Route 29 north exit ramp (continue east to Hydraulic Road intersection, turn left to Hydraulic Road/Route 29 intersection)
• Route 29 north to Route 250 west on ramp (continue north on Route 29 to Hydraulic Road, turn right and use Hydraulic Road/Route 250 intersection)
• Route 250 west to Route 29 north exit ramp (continue west on Route 250 to Barracks Road exit, turn left on Barracks Road and then turn left onto Route 29 North)

The traffic signals at Route 29 and Angus Road will be shut off during both traffic switches so the signal heads can be adjusted to the new traffic patterns. Police will be at the intersection to direct traffic.

Charlottesville-based Fielder’s Choice Enterprises Inc. is building the interchange improvements, which include adding an additional lane to the southbound entrance ramp from Emmet Street onto the Route 250 Bypass, lengthening the merge area and adding an additional lane on Route 250 west to the Barracks Road exit. It also includes an additional southbound lane on Route 29, from south of Hydraulic Road to the interchange.

The interchange improvement project is the first roadway improvement in the Route 29 Solutions package to advance to construction. The contract has a fixed completion date of May 21, 2016. The project is part of a package of eight in Charlottesville and Albemarle County that will improve safety, increase capacity and efficiency along Route 29 and provide alternate routes on parallel roads. Information about the Route 29 Solutions package can be found on VDOT’s web site at:  www.Route29Solutions.org.