Utility relocation complete at Route 29-Rio Road intersection project

The relocation of utilities is complete at the Route 29-Rio Road grade-separated intersection project. The natural gas distribution lines for the Charlottesville Gas utility was the final utility that had to be moved and marks an important construction milestone.

Since last May when utility work began, overhead and underground services for telephone, data, electricity, water and natural gas have been relocated to make way for construction of the grade-separated intersection. The utility work was critical since much of the construction work is to be done where the utilities were located.

Dave Covington, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s program manager for Route 29 Solutions, praised the cooperation of the utilities in meeting the project’s accelerated schedule. “These relocations were critical to timely completion of the project. The close coordination between the utility owners, the contractor and VDOT was instrumental in ensuring that the work was completed within the time allowed,” Covington said.

Overnight closures of Rio Road at the 29 intersection will continue as construction progresses. During the closures, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., traffic on Rio Road will not be able to cross Route 29 or make left turns onto Route 29. Left turns from Route 29 onto Rio Road will also be prohibited. Through traffic traveling north and south on Route 29 will be maintained, as will right turns from Route 29 onto Rio Road and from Rio Road eastbound to 29 southbound when work activities permit.

Business entrances on Route 29 north and south of the intersection, and on Rio Road east and west of Route 29, will remain open during the nighttime work. Signed detours are in place to direct traffic around the work zone.

The Rio Road grade-separated intersection project is one of eight Route 29 Solutions highway projects to improve safety and increase mobility along the Route 29 corridor in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. To learn more, visit Route29Solutions.org. Information about upcoming lane closures and other traffic impacts, as well as news about the projects, is posted on the News and Traffic Alerts page.