Road and pedestrian improvements along the U.S. 11 corridor just north of Lexington are being eyed in grant applications for funding through the Virginia Department of Transportation Smart Scale program.
The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors on June 22 approved resolutions of support for grant applications prepared by Chris Slaydon, the county’s director of community development. The county unsuccessfully applied for such grant funding two years ago but Slaydon expressed hope that this second attempt at securing the funding might be met with success.
Road improvements are proposed for the busy intersection of U.S. 11 with Econo Lane/Greenhouse Road that has grown increasingly congested due to commercial development on Econo Lane in recent years.
The project would add a new northbound right turn lane from U.S. 11 onto Econo Lane, an extension of the southbound left turn lane on U.S. 11 onto Econo Lane, an extension of the left turn lane on U.S. 11 north onto Greenhouse Road and the creation of a crosswalk on the southern portion of the U.S. 11 intersection.
Pedestrian improvements proposed include constructing a 5-foot-wide sidewalk for half-a-mile on the west side of U.S. 11 from south of Hunter Hill Road to College Square Shopping Center and to Greenhouse Road, and building a 5-foot-wide sidewalk for .3-of-a-mile on the east side of U.S. 11 from College Square Shopping Center to Greenhouse Road.
If the applications are approved, VDOT would provide 100 percent of the funding for the projects.
The resolutions adopted by the supervisors note that Smart Scale projects are selected “based on their cost effectiveness in meeting performance goals.” These projects are intended to address “congestion, safety and pedestrian infrastructure needs.”
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