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Area residents will get a chance next month to give their input on a $3.7 million project to improve pedestrian and bicycle access along North Main Street in Lexington.
The project is scheduled to get underway next year.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing on the project on March 15, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Virginia Horse Center.
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 Tim Gregory, P.E., Project Manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 811 Commerce Road, Staunton, VA 24401-9029. Comments can be recorded at the meeting with the assistance of a court reporter.
Lexington City Council unanimously approved a resolution to support the project in August 2018. The goal of the proposed project is to improve pedestrian and bicycle accommodations from the intersection with Massie Street to the intersection with Hook Lane on North Main Street.
Additionally, the existing sidewalk on the southeast side of the U.S. 11 will be widened by 5 feet to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On-street parking will be removed and replaced with 4-foot-wide bicycle lanes going both directions.
This section of roadway serves as the city’s northern gateway, passing through the campus of Virginia Military Institute, and conveying users to downtown Lexington. The improvements will also convey people traveling on the Chessie Trail, which is part of the larger Brushy Hills to the Blue Ridge Parkway trail network, safely into downtown Lexington. The total estimated cost of this project is $3,680,255 which includes $376,447 for preliminary engineering, $286,000 for right of way and $3,017,808 for construction. This project received funding from Virginia’s SMART SCALE program for prioritizing transportation improvements.
The goal is to have the design approved this spring, with VDOT beginning to acquire the necessary rightof- ways in the fall. The project will be advertised for bids in spring of 2024.
Additional information can be found on the VDOT website at https://www. virginiadot.org/projects/ staunton/city-of-lexington-8211-route-11-pedestrianaccess- improvements.asp.
