With the missing medians, peeled-up pavement, and barrage of cones, it’s hard to miss the construction on Hydraulic Road and U.S. 29. But Virginia Department of Transportation Project Manager Will Stowe says there’s a method to the madness.
Construction along the busy corridor started earlier this year and has mostly consisted of right-of-way acquisitions up to this point, according to Stowe. “Currently, the main work is along the Hydraulic corridor,” he says. “We are preparing to build a roundabout at the intersection of Hillsdale Drive and Hydraulic.”
Located between the Whole Foods Market and Kroger parking lots, that particular intersection is a notoriously busy one. Data from VDOT’s crash map over the last two years shows clusters of accidents in and around the intersection. By putting in a roundabout, VDOT hopes to improve safety and traffic flow in the area.
VDOT is currently relocating utilities and installing drainage, and they plan to implement a detour for which construction is projected to last between 40 and 45 days. This detour will take drivers to the nearby intersection of the 250 Bypass and U.S. 29/Emmett Street next to Bodo’s Bagels. In an effort to reduce traffic as a result of the detour, VDOT intentionally scheduled the work while the University of Virginia, Albemarle County schools, and Charlottesville City schools are out of session (UVA holds summer session classes, but student presence on Grounds is significantly lower compared to the fall and spring semesters).
During construction, drivers will still be able to access businesses and other locations along Hydraulic Road, Brandywine Drive, and Michie Drive, but the area will be closed to through traffic.
“We’ll make sure that all the roundabout signage and guidance is in place, [and] the pavement marking will make it pretty clear which ways you need to go,” he says.
Aside from the roundabout, the project will also include signal changes, handicap ramp improvements, and the construction of a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29 by the Shops at Stonefield.
“We’re also installing Amber beacons at the crosswalks around the roundabout to alert traffic to pedestrians,” says Stowe. Other pedestrian crossings and street lighting will be added throughout the construction area, but one big change for drivers will be the removal of left turn lanes from Hydraulic Road onto Route 29. “Reducing the phases at that light … will give a lot more green time to the other operations [there].”
VDOT has already started preparing for the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29, but construction will not significantly affect drivers and pedestrians until at least this fall. “We’ll be focused on the roundabouts and signal[s] this summer,” says Stowe. “We’ll be focusing on getting the pedestrian bridge built into the fall and into next year.”