County Supervisors Are Unanimously Opposed

Proposal and savings
Terminate funding for the U.S. Route 29 Charlottesville Bypass project. Estimated project costs are approximately $180 million — 56 percent federally funded.

Background
The proposed Charlottesville Bypass is a six-mile, four-lane, limited-access highway intended to upgrade a portion of the Route 29 corridor. Route 29 was designated as a Highway of National Significance in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) for enhancing interstate arterial traffic and economic development. Easing arterial traffic congestion is Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) justification for the Bypass.

Status
About $31 million has been spent on right-of-way acquisitions, preliminary engineering and other preparatory costs. While the Commonwealth Transportation Board has voted to proceed with final design and right-of-way acquisition, the Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the Sierra Club and the Piedmont Environmental Council, has sued to stop this road on six environmental counts.

Problems with the project

Taxpayer Concerns
The proposed Bypass is expensive, at almost $30 million per mile. The proposed road is planned to carry about 15,000 Vehicles Per Day (VPD) in 2015. But studies have been conducted that show that in 2010 the estimated north-south through-traffic (VDOT’s main concern) would only be 2,200 VPD. More fiscally responsible alternatives exist.

Local Community Concerns
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors is unanimously opposed to the project. The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization has refused to approve federal construction funds until certain information on costs and impacts is established and a previously agreed to sequencing of local road construction is followed. Public comments opposed any Bypass by 3,212 to 51 in 1990 VDOT hearings. The proposed Bypass goes through six neighborhoods, impacts five schools, and eliminates more than thirty residences. Public comments overwhelmingly opposed the Bypass by seven to one (7,105 to 1,101) at a February 1997 public hearing. A Bypass Design Advisory Committee composed of citizens has also voted against this road. Expected traffic noise caused by four to five percent grades over a mountain cut is a major concern. Local activists are concerned that the state failed to follow the results of its own $3.7 million study and its agreements with the community.

Environmental Concerns
Danger to the community’s largest drinking water impoundment is the greatest concern. Reservoir siltation, runoff pollution and hazardous spills are major concerns. The Environmental Protection Agency has raised similar concerns. An endangered species has been found in the proposed corridor.

Contacts
George Larie, Charlottesville/Albemarle Transportation Coalition, (804) 971-5714; Josephine de Give, Piedmont Environmental Council, (540) 347-2334, www.pec-va.org ; Deborah Murray, Southern Environmental Law Center, (804) 977-4090.