According to a release from the Virginia Department of Transportation, construction will start in earnest next week on the fabled Meadowcreek Parkway (MCP), a stretch of road that has served as a political football among local politicians, environmentalists and businessmen for 40 years.
Contractor Faulconer Construction Company will begin by clearing right of way from East Rio Road to Meadow Creek so that work can start on a bridge over the stream. The construction will shut down the Rivanna Trail on February 17.
Anti-MCP activists had hoped to halt the construction by persuading VDOT and local officials that work on this section of the road should wait until issues over the related city projects—McIntire Road Extended and the 250 interchange—are resolved. Though they are considering lawsuits over the road, potential legal action would focus on the portions of the road in the city, and an injunction at this point is highly unlikely.
Faulconer is starting construction on the purple portion of the MCP. VDOT says the city’s portion of the road will go to bid in the coming months.