Small But Important Segment Of John Rolfe Parkway Opening Friday

The final leg of the John Rolfe Parkway project, which began last year, has given hope to residents of the Far West End that a bit of relief from the area’s traffic congestion is on the way. An important segment of the roadway, between West Broad Street and Three Chopt Road, will officially open on […]

October 29, 2009; 1:21 PM • by Trevor Dickerson

The final leg of the John Rolfe Parkway project, which began last year, has given hope to residents of the Far West End that a bit of relief from the area’s traffic congestion is on the way. An important segment of the roadway, between West Broad Street and Three Chopt Road, will officially open on Friday.

Ever since construction began on nearby Urban Mixed Use development West Broad Village, a connection has been maintained between Three Chopt Road and West Broad Street by means of a meandering, bumpy path through the middle of the project’s construction, roughly following the route of the former Three Chopt Lane that was in existence back when the property was farmland a few years ago.

The connector through West Broad Village will be permanently closed on Saturday after the new portion of John Rolfe Parkway is opened to traffic. Signs have been set up by the County of Henrico advising motorists of the change and directing them to use the new roadway starting Friday.

A new traffic signal is in place (currently in flashing mode) at John Rolfe Parkway and Three Chopt Road near Pocahontas Middle School, and timing changes have been put in place at the road’s intersection with West Broad Street, across from Target.

The portion of the Parkway from Three Chopt to Church Road is still under construction and should be open to traffic by the summer of 2010. Henrico County Traffic Engineer Michael A. Jennings estimates that the portion of roadway from Church Road to West Broad Street cost approximately $11.2 to complete.

A portion of the road from Gayton Road to Ridgefield Parkway has been open for several years, but construction of the portion from Ridgefield to Church was delayed several times, hurting tenants in the John Rolfe Commons shopping center, such as Max & Erma’s, who recently closed their doors as we reported yesterday. Without the new road in place, the shopping center is largely inaccessible from the Short Pump area by means of a direct route.

Interact: Do you believe John Rolfe Parkway will provide significant traffic relief to the Far West End when completed? Sound off in the comments below.

October 29, 2009 1:21 PM 0