Urban Design Committee approves replacement of Lombardi Street bridge, urges study of bike/pedestrian transition

The Urban Design Committee voted June 12, 2025, to recommend approval of the Lombardi Street bridge replacement project, a city-led plan to replace the 122-year-old structure over CSX tracks and add shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

Committee members approved the staff-backed proposal with an added recommendation that the city and project team explore alternative treatments for the transition between the shared-use path and on-street bike lanes to improve safety.

The project presentation, given by Leonard Rhodes of city staff, described a design that reduces the bridge span from about 153 feet to 104 feet, retains a roughly 53-foot overall width and replaces a 40-foot travelway with a 24-foot travelway while adding a shared-use path on each side. Jeremy Schlussel, a consultant with Whitman Record Associates, said the work would "replace a 122 year old bridge, which is the oldest active bridge in the city of Richmond currently," and called the improvements a "very important pedestrian [and] bike connection between Virginia Union University and downtown."

Schlussel told the committee the bridge currently carries roughly 6,300 vehicles a day and that CSX owns the existing structure; under the project agreement CSX will contribute funds and the structure is to be transferred to the city. The proposal includes architectural parapets and lighting to match nearby Virginia Union / Maggie Walker corridor treatments and graffiti-resistant finishes, and the design team said the project was coordinated with CSX and the Richmond Department of Public Works.

Tom Westbrook, the project manager for Public Works, told the committee that keeping pedestrian access across the railroad during construction is possible but costly: "It cost about $3,000,000 additionally to do it, and it takes about 8 to 12 months longer," and that the project team had relayed those trade-offs to stakeholders. Westbrook said plans call for the retaining wall at the northwest quadrant to be replaced and for utility relocations (notably Verizon and city water) to occur before construction.

The project budget presented to the committee is about $21,600,000; early estimates when the project began were near $5,000,000. The team said plans are expected to reach 100% in summer 2026, with construction advertised in fall 2026, work starting spring 2027 and completion anticipated in 2029. Because of railroad coordination the project team expects approximately two years of roadway closure in the immediate area and will direct traffic and transit to detours, primarily via Broad Street and local connectors such as Lee Street.

Committee members raised safety concerns about the design detail that turns a portion of the bike lane into a raised shared-use path on the bridge. UDC member Mr. Hinman said the closure and detour represent a significant impact on pedestrians and cyclists: "It is, however, a really significant detour for pedestrians and cyclists." The committee's approval therefore included a recommendation that staff and the applicant "explore alternative treatments for the transition between the bike lane and the shared-use path." Project staff noted that some elements are tied to the SmartScale funding application to VDOT and that any change will need to be verified against funding and state requirements.

The committee also discussed placemaking elements, masonry treatments to match Virginia Union University, graffiti-resistant finishes, coordination with CSX to maintain four tracks, and the combined sewer overflow (CSO) infrastructure adjacent to the railroad that constrains construction near the south abutment. Members asked staff to continue outreach with Virginia Union University, Maggie Walker High School, GRTC, BPRA and other stakeholders during final design and utility relocation phases.

A motion to approve the UDC recommendation for the Lombardi Street bridge replacement passed unanimously. The committee recorded a roll-call affirmation of the approval and a simultaneous recommendation to study safer transitional treatments for the shared-use path/bike lane interface during final design.

The approval now moves the UDC recommendation to the Planning Commission as part of the review record; staff said they expect to return a final package for the commission in the fall.