RICHMOND, Va., — Brantley Tyndall admits crossing the Mayo Bridge as a driver, cyclist, or pedestrian is dangerous.
“The Mayo Bridge is actually the one that's the least accommodating to people biking and walking,” Tyndall explained. “You're close to big vehicles. It’s in pretty bad disrepair and so there's not much of a great separation on the sidewalk anymore.”
Speeding is also a major issue on one of the oldest highway bridges over the James River built in 1913. The South 14th Street bridge connects Richmond's Canal Walk area to Floodwall Park on the Southside.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is seeking the public’s feedback on current conditions and priorities related to the Mayo’s Bridge replacement project.
Community input received will help provide guidance to theproject team and all stakeholders as they move forward with developing concepts, according to a press release.
Since moving to the Southside six years ago, Manchester Alliance President Janet Woodka sees the potential in what could replace this aging bridge.
“Ultimately, I think the Mayo Bridge needs to not be four lanes of traffic. Right now, it's two lanes each direction. It is very fast. It enters a neighborhood at a speed where this section of Hull Street has twice as many accidents as the second section of Hull Street because the second section is two lanes,” she stated.
The Mayo’s Bridge project scope originally included replacing the superstructure of the bridge and maintaining the existing substructure (piers) in place. However, after a structural and geotechnical analysis of the existing piers, the cost to reuse the existing piers increased making a bridge replacement a more viable solution, the press release continued.
VDOT invites residents and travelers to learn more about the project and take the online survey from May 9 through June 9, 2024.
City groups are also hosting an information meeting about the bridge at Studio Two Three on West 15th Street from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Monday, May 20.
The meeting is in partnership with Manchester Alliance, Shockoe Partnership, Bike Walk RVA, SMBW, Venture Richmond, Bridgepark, and Marvel.
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