VDOT to hold design public hearing on 280 Southeast Connector

The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a design public hearing concerning Route 280 Southeast Connector in Rockingham County. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 27, from 4-7 p.m. at the Rockingham County Administration Center, Community Development Meeting Room, 20 East Gay Street, Harrisonburg.

Citizens can come in during the meeting hours and discuss the project on a one-on-one basis with VDOT officials and designers. Written comments can be submitted at the meeting or within 10 days after the meeting date to Mr. John-Allen Ennis, P.E. Virginia Department of Transportation, 811 Commerce Road, Staunton, VA 24401-9029. Oral comments can be recorded at the meeting with the assistance of a court reporter

The project is 0.6-mile long and extends from 0.1 mile west of the Harrisonburg City limits to 0.5 mile east of the Harrisonburg City limits.

The majority of this roadway will be on new location with intersections at several other routes, including Route 726 (Stone Spring Road), Route 253 (Port Republic Road), Route 710 (Reservoir Street), Route 704 (Boyers Road) and Route 33. It will be a four-lane divided Urban Minor Arterial roadway over rolling terrain with a 50 mile-per hour design speed. It will have 12-foot lanes with 10-foot shoulders that include eight-foot wide paved shoulders and a 16-foot raised median. Approximately 200 feet of right of way will be required for this project.

The road will tie into a City of Harrisonburg project currently under development which widens Stone Spring Road to five lanes out to the Rockingham County limits. This project continues the multilane facility east through Rockingham County until it intersects with Route 33.

The total estimated cost for this project is $10,185,960 with $1,081,498 for preliminary engineering, $2,413,405 for right of way activities, and $6,691,057 for construction.

Design approval is scheduled for summer 2011 with right of way activities also beginning in fall 2011. Construction will begin in early 2013 with completion in spring 2014.

The average daily traffic volume on Stone Spring Road (Route 726) is 3,800 vehicles per day. Route 280 is projected to have 19,000 vehicles per day in the year 2034.