Winter storm delays beginning of work on Route 29 / Route 250 project

The winter storm bearing down on Central Virginia has delayed the start of construction on improvements to the Route 29 / Route 250 Bypass interchange in Charlottesville. Site work, which was scheduled to begin today, has been postponed until later this week. The actual start date will depend on the weather and ground conditions.

The first work will involve clearing and grading to construct a storm water management pond inside the loop ramp in the southwest quadrant of the interchange and grading along the northern slope near the entrance ramp from Route 29 (Emmet Street) south onto the westbound Route 250 Bypass.

Charlottesville-based Fielder’s Choice Enterprises Inc., won an $11,121,077.60 contract for the project, which includes adding an additional lane to the southbound entrance ramp from Route 29 (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.

Most of the construction work that will affect traffic will be done at night or during off-peak travel hours. Lane closures on Route 29 will be allowed only from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday. On Friday nights, closures cannot begin before 10 p.m. Saturday night closures can begin at 9 p.m. and extend until 10 a.m. Sunday. Sunday night closures can begin at 8 p.m. On the Route 250 Bypass, daytime lane closures will be allowed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. All lanes will be opened to traffic four hours before and four hours after sporting events and other major events at the University of Virginia.

The Route 29/250 interchange 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.