Lexington
Lexington City Council heard an update from City Manager Tom Carroll on the plans for replacement of the bridge on Lime Kiln Road at its Feb. 6 meeting.
After completing some emergency repairs to the bridge earlier this fiscal year, including installing steel plates on the bridge to ensure that vehicles and pedestrians have a solid surface upon which to cross the bridge, the city has been working with the Virginia Department of Transportation to replace the bridge.
A public hearing on the proposed bridge replacement was held on Jan. 9, with a number of residents providing feedback on the project, including suggesting that sidewalks be included on both sides of the bridge for pedestrians. While a six-foot-wide sidewalk is included on the south side of the bridge (closest to the park), a sidewalk will not be put on the north side of the bridge as doing so would require additional studies and require additional funding, thus delaying the project. Work on the bridge replacement will begin in summer of 2026.
Lexington City Manager Tom Carroll informed City Council at its Feb. 6 meeting that he and Lexington City Schools Superintendent Rebecca Walters have begun looking into alternative programs for those provided by the Youth Services program due to Tammy Dunn, who has served as the program’s director for nearly 35 years, planning to retire from that role on or before June 30.
The department currently provides after-school programming for 25 K-5 students, as well as an 8-10 week summer camp with similar attendance.
Carroll proposed reaching out to the Rockbridge Area YMCA to see if they would be able to expand their after-school programming to include the students currently in the Youth Services program, and to set aside $50,000 to help the YMCA with covering costs of such an expansion of their services. The Youth Services program has a budget of $126,000 in FY25.
Carroll told The News-Gazette on Friday that Walters is planning on meeting with representatives from the YMCA this week to see if they are willing and able to accommodate the expansion of their after-school programs. In an email on Feb. 18, he also said that listening sessions to get feedback from parents would be held before any decisions are made, though they have not been scheduled yet.
