Now that Albemarle has a relatively new Comprehensive Plan, staff in the Community Development Department have had the opportunity to get to work on projects to try to increase the efficiency of the county’s existing development areas.
That includes updating a list of transportation priorities that was last endorsed by the Board in 2019. A new ranking was taken before Supervisors in 2023 but that work was never finalized. On June 3, staff presented a new version.
“There’s a long list of 169 transportation projects in Albemarle County that have been identified in a variety of prior plans and studies,” said Jessica Dimmick, the county’s transportation planner. “With such a long list, prioritizing these projects helps articulate which ones are most important to work on first.”
These prioritization lists date back to 2015 when the Virginia Department of Transportation was preparing a funding mechanism that would become known as Smart Scale. In that process, candidate projects are ranked on a series of criteria such as how they will increase economic development, relieve congestion, and provide other benefits.
Since then, Albemarle has been successful in getting several projects funded and completed such as a roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 250 and Route 151.
Dimmick said the 2026 list has a new methodology with a five-character ID for all of the projects.
“The first two characters are a general prefix indicating the area where that project is located and you can use that on the map,” Dimmick said. “The prefix codes correspond to these individual areas, the seven neighborhoods in the development area, along with some other outlying areas and then the rural areas are categorized in a basic quadrant.”
The 2026 list also recognizes that not all transportation projects are at the same level of planning. There are now four stages with one being an idea. Stage two is a project that needs preliminary engineering to produce a cost estimate. A project at the third stage is ready to seek funding.
“And then stage four is a project where the funding has been secured for the total project cost. Stage four projects, because they are fully funded, they are removed from the project list,” Dimmick said.
Here are the resources:
- Transportation Project Prioritization Report
- Map of all of the projects
- Albemarle County Transportation Project List by Project ID
- Scoring methodology
- Map of the priority projects
- Draft list with project scores and ranks, grouped by project stage
- Presentation given to Supervisors on June 3, 2026
Staff wanted Supervisors to endorse the draft list which is divided into two sections. The first is for projects that address Vehicular Safety / Congestion and the second is for those that address Bike/Pedestrian Mobility and Safety.
At the top of the former list is the 5th Street Interchange which carries the code N5001. This would “reconfigure the 5th Street interchange with I-64 (Exit 120) to a Diverging Diamond Interchange and provide a shared use path connecting the 5th Street Trail Hub behind the Starbucks to the existing sidewalk on the west side of 5th Street in front of the 5th Street Place apartments.”
This is a Stage 3 project and has already been a candidate for Smart Scale. In fact, this is one of four submissions the Charlottesville Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization will make in the next round.
Dimmick concluded her presentation by saying that the formula itself can be adjusted to reflect different priorities.
Supervisor Ann Mallek wanted to know if improving access to fire and rescue services is included in the methodology noting that the project to complete Eastern Avenue in Crozet only received a 2.5 safety score out of 10. CZ001 is ranked 12 on the vehicular list and listed as a Stage 3.
“Eastern Avenue Bridge was in the plans in 1992 and between 1992 and now there have been literally thousands of residential units approved between Route 240 and U.S. 250 based upon the availability of that road,” Mallek said.
Last year, Albemarle County attempted to complete the road using a public-private partnership but there were no responsive bids as reported by the Crozet Gazette.
The number one project identified for Bike/Pedestrian Mobility and Safety is the Rivanna River Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing. What is now identified as N4011 would “construct a new 3,100 foot-long 10-foot wide bicycle and pedestrian bridge (14-ft wide beam or truss bridge) across the Rivanna River connecting Woolen Mills to the Pantops area, and construction of a shared use path to the intersection of State Farm Boulevard and Peter Jefferson Parkway.”
This is identified as a Stage 3 project and has been in the planning stages for many years. In 2022, the MPO Policy Board voted to seek a Smart Scale application. At the time it had a $15 million cost estimate but that nearly tripled to $42.5 million. That fall, VDOT had revised their methodology as explained to the Commonwealth Transportation Board in October 2022.
Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley was surprised to see it at the top.
“I like seeing it number one, everyone wants it,” LaPisto-Kirtley said. “But knowing what we’ve gone through on the committee regarding the price, where it started out and where it ended up, which was just impossible, how do you feel that that is something that is achievable, frankly?”
Dimmick said the project would be a key transportation connection and that’s why the MPO is seeking a federal grant to continue pursuit. This will be the fourth attempt to secure money to do further engineering to evaluate the true cost.
Kevin McDermott, Albemarle’s Deputy Planning Director, stepped in to remind everyone that cost is not included as a factor in the prioritization list.
“Most of these projects we do not have cost estimates for,” McDermott said. “It would be a large effort to try and get those cost estimates. And so we’re ranking projects outside of that factor.”
Supervisor Ned Gallaway said he was concerned about voting for a priority list that might get locked down for several years without allowing any flexibility for future decisions. He also supported not listing cost estimates in the prioritization list.
“I for one am not in favor of putting the cost estimates in because people get attached to whatever number you show them first and then we’ve all been punched in the face with when we get the new updated costs two years later, three years later,” Gallaway said. “So I don’t know about you all, but I’d rather not go through that trauma. Let’s just wait till we actually get something that’s viable and let’s figure out what the cost might be.”
Gallaway said the methodology should be flexible and be able to change as conditions merit. For instance, he suggested if Fashion Square Mall were to be redeveloped, that would likely bring forward two phases to extend and realign Hillsdale Drive. (N2011 and N2021)
Supervisors voted to accept the list as presented.
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