The City of Staunton hopes to issue bids in October for tunnel repairs under the Wharf Lot in downtown and begin construction in January 2026.
Repairs are necessary after an engineering study determined in March that parking on the surface of the Wharf created a safety concern for the tunnels below.
The city anticipates to award a contract for bid in December and for repairs to begin on Byers Street in January 2026.
“I hope to be under contract by the end of the year to allow work to begin as early as January 2026,” Staunton City Engineer Lyle Hartt said to Staunton City Council at a regular meeting Thursday night.
The city’s main priority continues to be public safety.
“First and foremost, public safety, prior to and during construction. Then, of course, to have, ultimately, get our downtown streets fully functional while minimizing, to the best of our ability, disruption to the Wharf and the surrounding community,” Hartt said.
However, the city will also prioritize keeping the project cost effective for taxpayers while making repairs that are long-term solutions.
The most immediate and high-impact repairs are necessary under Johnson and Byers streets to replace tunnels. Repairs are necessary under New Street. Corrosion of the steel rebar in the tunnels under Byers Street and the Wharf Lot created integrity issues and makes replacement a high priority. Rebar corrosion is present under Johnson Street also, as well as severe deterioration of the concrete ceiling.
Under the eastern side of New Street is more concrete deterioration and cracking.
“And that’s why we blocked off that area of the sidewalk and about five feet of the parallel parking spaces on the left side as you go up New Street,” Hartt said.
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In the interest of safety, repairs will be done from a top-down approach, which means a contractor will go down through the road surface.
Under Byers and Johnson streets, tunnel walls and roof will be removed and replaced with reinforced concrete. Under New Street, partial removal of the ceiling of the tunnel is necessary, as well as repairs.
Most water, sewer, gas and electric utilities will be relocated from the areas of repairs. Hartt said the existence of utilities poses the greatest challenge, especially because of two 8-inch gas lines and one 10-inch water main pipe that run along the ceiling of the tunnel under Johnson Street. Two sewer lines are also adjacent to the area.
“These are all entangled with the construction process,” Hartt said.
Coffer dams and other methods will be used to halt the stream of water in the tunnels during construction.
The tunnels under the Wharf Lot were not helped by two floods in August 2020, one of which mostly affected Gypsy Hill Park, but both affected downtown. The second flood incident had the biggest impact on the Wharf Lot. A 2021 study by engineers Wiley Wilson determined that tunnel maintenance and improvements under the Wharf Lot would alleviate future flooding.
In early March 2025, Wiley Wilson encouraged the city to close the Wharf Lot to parking out of concern for structural integrity of the tunnels under the parking lot. The Johnson Street entrance to the Wharf Lot remains closed, six months later, for the same concerns and a second entrance from Byers Street was created by Staunton Public Works on March 31. Only partial parking is available in the Wharf Lot.
According to Hartt, construction of repairs and tunnel replacement under Byers Street is planned from January to May 2026, under Johnson Street from May 2026 to April 2027 and under New Street tentatively in spring 2027.
“We want to do just one area at a time to help with impacts to downtown and traffic and such,” Hartt said.
While construction is done under Johnson Street, Byers Street will be fully reopened to traffic.
The staging area for construction will be in the eastern portion of the parking lot at the Wharf and will become closed to parking and traffic.
“Effectively, the entire east side of the Wharf, or the majority of it if not the entirety of it, will be a construction zone, ” Hartt said.
On-street parking on Byers Street will be temporarily reduced, but residents will have access to their homes.
All work will be dependent on weather conditions, particularly during winter months.
Staunton Engagement & Communications Manager Josh Knight relayed the plan for communication, including the importance of a parking plan, necessary detours and wayfinding and signage where necessary.
“The big thing for us is going to be making sure we still maintain access for everybody to get the parking and make sure they know how to get to the parking,” Knight said. Communication related to parking will continue throughout construction between the city and contractor, as well as first responders and Google maps.
The city will also focus on encouraging pedestrian access and providing support for local businesses in the Wharf Lot. City staff has met with residents and business owners regularly to keep lines of communication open.
“So that working group does continue. We met in July and we just met yesterday actually [September 24], met in September. And really just giving them a chance to discuss their current challenges, for us to provide updates to them, keep that open line of connection and then really collect insight on their needs. I think it has been successful,” Knight said.
Knight said a need will exist during construction for “constant updates” to the community, which will always be available on the city’s project webpage. News media will be contacted prior to the start of each construction phase with parking changes and detours. If any subsequent big changes are necessary during construction, the media will again be notified.
Councilmember Corrie Park owns and operates Made: By the People, For the People on Beverley Street. She asked about the timing for the city to install signage regarding parking changes at the Wharf, especially with the 2025 holiday season approaching.
“It’s just a really precarious time for small business right now,” Park said.
Knight said that conversations have taken place and will continue.
Vice Mayor Brad Arrowood asked about whether Byers Street would continue to be a one-way street during construction on Johnson Street. Hartt said the plan so far is for Byers Street to be one-way from Lewis to Johnson streets.
In the city’s 2026 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), $30,000 was allotted for a feasibility study of daylighting the streams that run under the Wharf Lot.
“We’ve just determined that that one is not going to meet our needs,” said Staunton Environmental Programs Administrator Willow Hughes on Thursday. “It’s not going to provide us with enough information.”
The study’s initial goal was to enable the city to begin to thoroughly examine the possibilities of daylighting at the Wharf and, Hughes said, city staff felt the city’s needs were met with information from other studies, including Wiley Wilson‘s tunnel study which brought to staff’s attention the importance of something needing to be done sooner rather than later. Wiley Wilson has provided another study with several alternative site plans and stormwater models, which will cost $166,000. The cost of each site plan and stormwater model will also be provided.
The study does not include a plan to turn the Wharf Lot into a public park, plans of which would come later.
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Rebecca Barnabi
