Transportation projects go through many steps between an idea and something people can move through. In Virginia, one of those steps is something called a design public hearing.
“Sometimes when offering two or more possible proposals, [the Virginia Department of Transportation] conducts information meetings and / or public hearings to involve citizens before making a final decision on the location of the roadway,” reads a VDOT primer on how roads get built.
Two such projects will go to their design public hearing tomorrow night. One is in Nelson County within VDOT’s Lynchburg District and the second includes projects in Albemarle and Charlottesville. Both localities are in the Culpeper District.
The Culpeper District project is for a bundle of projects to be located at several locations across the area.
“The projects include a roundabout at Hydraulic Road and District Avenue, improvements at the U.S. 29 Bypass and Fontaine Avenue interchange, and streetscape improvements along Fontaine Avenue,” reads a section of VDOT’s website.
This public hearing will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Virginia Department of Forestry at 900 Natural Resources Drive, Suite 800. If you go, you’ll pass by construction underway at the Fontaine Research Park for the Manning Institute for Biotechnology as well as a large parking garage.
Funding for those three projects comes from VDOT’s Smart Scale funding process, with the latter being a project originally awarded to the City of Charlottesville in 2016. VDOT has assumed control of the project and incorporated it into the latest bundle. The cost estimate for all three is $66 million.
Last August, City Council indicated their preference that the District Avenue roundabout provide full access to the Meadows neighborhood as I reported at the time.
The improvements at the U.S. 29/250 bypass and Fontaine Avenue are a precursor to eliminating a left-hand movement from northbound U.S. 29 to westbound I-64.
Details on the three projects are available here.
If you can’t make the public hearing, VDOT’s website also has information about how you can have your say.
“Give your written or oral comments at the hearing or submit them by June 2, 2025, to Mr. Harold Jones, P.E., Virginia Department of Transportation, 701 VDOT Way, Charlottesville, VA 22911. You may also email comments to Harold.Jones@vdot.virginia.gov. Please reference ‘Fontaine and Hydraulic DB Bundle’.”
Roundabout proposed in Nelson County
The second public hearing in the area is for a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Virginia Route 151 and Virginia Route 6.
“The proposed project is a result of a planning study of Route 151 conducted in 2013 with the vision of a Route 151 corridor that serves the needs of all users and stakeholders while maximizing safety; preserving the corridor’s rural character, local sense of place, and high quality of life; and promoting place‐based economic vitality,” reads a website on the proposed project.
This project has a cost estimate of $15.3 million.
The public hearing will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rockfish Valley Community Center at 190 Rockfish School Lane in Afton. Here’s how you make your comment heard if you can’t attend.
“Give your written or oral comments at the meeting or submit them online from the survey on VDOT’s website at the address listed above by 6/1/25 (6/8/25 if the meeting is moved due to inclement weather) to Amanda Cox, DBIA, Project Manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 4219 Campbell Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24501-4801. You may also email your comments toAmanda.Cox@VDOT.Virginia.gov. Please reference ‘Routes 151 and 6 Roundabout’ in the subject line.”
Before you go: This particular story should have gone out in the Week Ahead for this week, but the information wasn’t easy for me to come by. I knew they were going to be happening, but they weren’t listed on the public calendars of local government meetings. However, I’ve realized that one way to fill out Charlottesville Community Engagement is to write the Week Ahead segments that didn’t make it in. This is one of them. It went out in the May 21, 2025 edition of the newsletter.
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