 The county portion of the Meadowcreek Parkway opened last month and no accidents or tickets have been reported.
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Part of East Rio Road is currently blocked off to complete the northern connection of Albemarle County’s portion of the parkway. The detour, which directs drivers from East Rio Road by Melbourne Road onto the Meadowcreek Parkway, opened on October 12. That stretch of the parkway is a two-lane road that takes drivers through about a mile and a half of open landscape with many trees, but also many construction signs and a closed walking trail. They exit the parkway back onto East Rio Road by CATEC.
When the detour opened, VDOT said it would last approximately six weeks until about Thanksgiving. VDOT spokesman Lou Hatter said construction is currently on schedule, though that could change if extreme weather prevents construction. When that is finished the parkway will close and the obstructed part of East Rio Road will reopen. Construction will then begin again on the parkway itself.
Sean C. Hackney of the Albemarle Police Department reports there have been no tickets or accidents on the parkway since it opened. The only minor incidents involved one disabled vehicle and one hazard due to a deer that was hit by a car.
As for the city portion of the parkway, things remain at a standstill due to a collision of interests. Despite passing the federal benchmark of the FHA finding, the City has yet to receive the necessary permits to begin construction. The City also faces opposition from the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park. John Cruickshank, a member of the coalition, says the group plans to file an injunction against the project. The coalition has until April to file the injunction, but Cruickshank says it hopes to file before the end of the year. They also will send responses to the Army Core of Engineers’ memorandum of agreement concerning the McIntire Road Extended project.