Staunton closes Wharf parking area after structural concerns in downtown stormwater tunnels

Staunton City Manager Leslie Beauregard said the city closed parts of Byers Street and restricted vehicular access to segments of the Wharf parking lot after an engineering team identified areas of concern during a tunnel structural evaluation. The work session update to the Staunton City Council on March 13, 2025, described immediate closures as “an abundance of caution” while Wiley|Wilson continues inspections.

The move matters because those buried streams and downstream tunnel systems run beneath downtown and reach capacity during heavy storms; the system’s condition is tied to a series of downtown flood events and to recent public-safety and access decisions. "We are concerned enough to close down portions of Byers Street," Beauregard said, and the city has altered vehicle flows and created a secondary entrance to the western Wharf lot to preserve some capacity for parking and the farmers market.

Beauregard said the tunnel survey and structural evaluation are ongoing and that engineers are expanding their inspection area north on Central Avenue and east to New Street. She cautioned that the city does not yet know the extent of repairs, the timeline for emergency work, or the total cost. "We don't know the extent of repairs yet. We don't know the cost and how to fund," Beauregard told council. Staff are talking with state emergency management, the regional planning district commission and are exploring a mix of local funds, grants and potential bonding if needed.

Willow Hughes, the city’s environmental program specialist, said the city has invested in flood-sensor technology and that earlier flood-related initiatives helped reduce immediate risk and improve preparedness. Hughes told a local TV segment referenced by staff that the 2020 floods “caused about $3,000,000 in damage,” a figure the city has used to frame mitigation work. Beauregard thanked public-works, police, economic development and communications staff for quickly creating the alternate lot entrance and for managing the initial closures.

Members of the public urged the city to consider longer-term, landscape-scale approaches while repairs are planned. Bridal Burton, a member of the Lewis Creek Watershed Advisory Committee, urged council to explore “daylighting” Lewis Creek and Gum Springs Branch in the Wharf area as an alternative to buried culverts, arguing that an open-channel design with flood benches, vegetation and coordinated sewer replacement could reduce flood risk, improve water quality and create a public amenity. "You can't eliminate flooding, but you can reduce the severity and frequency," Burton said.

For now, staff said pedestrian access on the eastern side of the Wharf is safe and open, while vehicle traffic is being kept off the most affected segments. The farmers market is scheduled to use the western lot the first weekend in April; staff said they are coordinating a Plan B in case construction requires additional closures. The city has posted a public parking and business-retention survey and promised frequent updates as Wiley|Wilson completes its engineering recommendations.

What happens next: Wiley|Wilson will finish the structural evaluation and the city will brief council and the public when engineers can estimate scope, cost and timing for emergency work and for longer-term mitigation. Beauregard said funding options will be evaluated after the engineering team provides more precise estimates.

Evidence supporting this story comes from the March 13 work session presentation and public remarks recorded during the meeting, including the city manager’s on-the-record update and public comment from a watershed committee member.