House recommends $2 million for South Lawn

Earlier this month the U.S. House Appropriations Committee allocated $2 million for a pedestrian bridge to cross Jefferson Park Avenue, part of UVA’s $105 million South Lawn project.
The allocation comes as part of the 2007 Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, which would provide $67.8 billion in federal spending; the House and Senate, however, have not cast the final vote on the proposed appropriations. The $2 million for the South Lawn is one of only seven projects in the Commonwealth to receive funding in the bill.
If passed, the bill will send money for a grassy expanse, pitched as an echo of “the Lawn,” the site of Jefferson’s original campus (as well as throngs of naked, sprinting undergraduates). The grassy bridge will link the old Lawn to new buildings to be constructed on what is now a parking lot on JPA. UVA’s Office of the Architect expects to begin construction next year.
In a statement, UVA President John Casteen praised the work of Fifth District Congressman Virgil Goode, who apparently took a break from harassing immigrants to help get UVA on the fed gravy train. “This project is another example of the significant impact of his work,” said Casteen.—John Borgmeyer