Albemarle county ,va board of supervisors support US 29 bypass-charlottesville

From the Lynchburg News & advance website , www.newsadvance.com .

Albemarle board drops its opposition to US 29 plan

Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg

By Ray Reed
Published: June 09, 2011
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Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors voted late last night to end
the county’s opposition to the long-proposed western bypass of U.S.
29.

News of the vote was greeted with joy this morning by Lynchburg-area
people who say the traffic-clogged area north of Charlottesville is a
damper on the region’s economy.

“It’s a huge step forward,” said Rex Hammond, president of the
Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“Wow. That is great news,” said Mark Peake, Lynchburg’s
representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

“I’m delighted,” said state Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg.

Newman said the Albemarle County board’s vote was partly set up after
talks he had in February with Sean Connaughton, Virginia’s secretary
of transportation.

“I was convinced, coming out of that meeting, that he had a plan to
make the U.S. 29 bypass a reality, and to do it within Gov. Bob
McDonnell’s administration time,” Newman said.

The Albemarle supervisors’ vote, close to midnight, came when
Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier changed his position on the bypass, which
has been on the planning books for 20 years. In a June 1 meeting, the
supervisors had deadlocked 3-3 on their policy stance concerning the
western bypass route.

Dorrier said a long conversation with Connaughton led him to change
his position. Dorrier said Connaughton promised to find money for
improvements to solve a congestion problem on the existing U.S. 29
corridor, including a bridge on Berkmar Drive.

The result Wednesday night was a 4-2 vote that, for now, ends the
Albemarle board’s opposition to using the western bypass right of way
that the state already owns.

Hammond, Peake and Newman all said much more work needs to be done.
Peake said this vote, however, breaks a logjam that had blocked the
western corridor.

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