RICHMOND, Va. -- A paving and construction project that will bring several changes to a long stretch of Broad Street in Richmond will get underway this weekend.
It will impact street parking, sidewalks, bus lanes and more for several days at a time.
"We're in a constant state of flux. This is no exception," Trevor Dickerson, the former president of the Greater Scott's Addition Association, said.
Dickerson shared what life has been like in Scott's Addition over the past five years as he served as the president of the neighborhood association.
The neighborhood is part of the construction project set to begin Monday along a four-mile stretch of Broad Street, from Third Street to Staples Mill.
The project will involve several components. The first will be milling and paving which will be broken into five phases and is expected to last until mid to late June.
"Overlaying the entire street from curb to curb which is, to be quite honest, over 30 lane miles," Bobby Vincent, Richmond's director of the Department of Public Works, said.
The work will happen 24 hours a day with the exception of breaks during the weekend.
"We're not trying to have any on Friday nights as well as Saturday and Saturday night," Vincent said.
As those sections are finished, the GRTC Pulse Bus lanes will then be painted red to alert drivers and pedestrians, something that Dickerson said he constantly sees a need for.
"We have problems all the time with, you know, vehicles going into the bus lane and it creates confusion and crashes and things like that," Dickerson said.
There will also be work done on water lines, traffic signals and several improvements to sidewalks.
"We also have tree planters that we're going to be putting in crosswalks that are going to be upgraded," Vincent said.
Vincent said all the work is being done at once through various funding methods, including grants. Because of the work, there will be closures and detours for vehicles and pedestrians at various stages.
"The only thing we ask people to do is just follow the signage. And the signage on the spot is how you will be best guided to maneuver throughout that construction zone," Vincent said.
For Dickerson, he said sidewalk closures have been a concern in his neighborhood for years. He hopes to see mitigation measures and safe passages, but overall, said he's looking forward to the finished project.
"There'll be some growing pains in the short term but it should be a good thing in the long haul and some 2023, I think this will be a nice looking stretch," Dickerson said.
