Albemarle transportation update: Shared Use Path on U.S. 29 moving forward

Later today, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will get an update from the resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Charlottesville residency. What follows is some of what is in the report with information taken from VDOT’s database of public information on upcoming projects.

There are three main phases to a construction project and the first is Preliminary Engineering. There are six projects currently in this stage and the Route 29 Shared Use Path is the furthest along.

“This project will construct a new ten-foot-wide shared-use path along the east side of U.S. 29 (Seminole Trail) between Route 854 (Carrsbrook Drive) and Seminole Lane in Albemarle County,” reads a section on VDOT’s website. “The new shared-use path will tie in with an existing sidewalk located on the south side of the South Fork Rivanna River.”

This project will be advertised for construction later this spring but no exact date has been given. The $5 million project was funded through Smart Scale and is expected to be completed in spring of 2026.

The project with the next milestone is a “limited access change” for a park and lot ride anticipated at Exit 107. This $5 million project was also funded through Smart Scale and will see about two dozen spaces, bus shelter, and a place for buses to pull through. The public hearing was held in June 2024. (learn more)

Property is being acquired for a $11.3 million project known as the 5th Street Station trail and hub that was also funded in Smart Scale. This project won’t get under construction until next spring. What does it entail?

“This Smart Scale project will construct a 10-foot-wide shared-use path from Wegmans Way to 5th Street in Albemarle County and the city of Charlottesville,” reads the VDOT website. “The project will reconstruct the existing hiking trail on the west side of Biscuit Run to a 10-foot-wide shared-use path. This will connect 5th Street with 5th Street Station. A new bridge is proposed to replace the existing bridge over Moores Creek.”

A public hearing was held in September 2024 for a series of projects funded through Smart Scale for a total of $22.4 million that will improve the U.S. 250 on Pantops. Design approval is underway now and VDOT anticipated this project being advertised for construction bids in spring 2026.

“Congestion will be eased and traffic will move more efficiently through the intersection by converting the existing shared through/left-turn lanes into dedicated lanes for each traffic movement,” reads part of the description of this project.

Another project in preliminary engineering is a new 0.2 mile long road to connect Berkmar Drive with Lewis and Clark Drive at Airport Road. The design public hearing for this $19.2 million project was held last November.

“A two-lane hybrid roundabout will be constructed at the northern end of the project to connect Berkmar Drive with Airport Road and Lewis and Clark Drive,” reads this project’s description.

The project is expected to go to construction in late 2026 and to be completed in the fall of 2028.

Another project in the preliminary engineering phase does yet not have a certain future. A project to replace a bridge that carries Fontaine Avenue over Morey Creek did not yield any valid bids when it was advertised last and there are no scheduled milestones.

Design Build Bundles

To make projects more attractive to contractors, VDOT often advertises different projects as bundles. This was first used to implement the Route29 Solutions projects which saw construction of Berkmar Drive Extended, the grade separated interchange at Rio and U.S. 29, and other projects built in the mid 2010’s.

There are currently three separate bundles. The first has seen the construction of a roundabout at Hydraulic and Hillsdale and elimination of left hand turn lanes at Hydraulic and U.S. 29. Construction of a pedestrian bridge across U.S. 29 is currently underway.

A second bundle will see construction of four roundabouts as well as conversion of the intersection of Belvedere and Rio Road East to a “Green T.” These are at various stages of development. This five projects have a cost estimate of $42.3 million and the details can be seen on the VDOT website.

A public hearing is coming up in May for a third bundle which will see a roundabout at the intersection of Hydraulic Road / District Avenue / Cedar Hill Road, changes to the intersection of Fontaine Avenue and U.S. 29, and the project formerly known as the Fontaine Streetscape. VDOT has taken over management of that project from the City of Charlottesville. These projects were all funded through Smart Scale and have an estimated cost of $66.5 million. Read more about these projects on VDOT’s website.

City Council has already weighed on a preference for the District Avenue roundabout. Last August they said they would like the design to include full access to the city’s Meadows neighborhood as I reported at the time.

The other two documents? One is on the draft Secondary Six-Year Plan which is used to schedule paving of rural roads to the rural rustic standard. (details)

The other is the quarterly report from Albemarle County’s transportation planners. These are generally for projects that have not yet been submitted for funding or for which funding has not been secured. Some highlights:

• The Commonwealth Transportation Board will take a final vote in June on Smart Scale funding for the sixth round. Only one project in Albemarle County has been recommended for funding and that is for improvements at U.S. 250 and Peter Jefferson Parkway. Here’s my story from late January.
• This year Albemarle staff will apply for funding through VDOT’s Revenue Sharing initiative. Pre-applications are due on May 31. It appears there are three candidates.
• The first of four public meetings for planning for the Three Notched Trail Shared Use Path is expected to be held in May. Albemarle staff finalized an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration in April 2024 and the firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin has been selected as the lead consultant.
• A safety action plan that comes out of the Move Safely Blue Ridge initiative will come before the Board of Supervisors on May 7 with adoption on May 21.
• The transportation chapter of the draft Comprehensive Plan will come before the Board of Supervisors in late May 2025.

What are you most interested in?

Before you go: This story was originally sent out in the April 1, 2025 edition of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter and posted the following day. If you’d like to support this work, consider a paid subscription to the Substack newsletter or some other means of support.