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City staff outline state and federal transportation funding streams, list upcoming projects
Summary
Transportation staff reviewed federal and state grant programs used by Lynchburg, summarized past funding totals and listed upcoming projects including a Bedford Avenue bridge replacement (estimated $24 million) and multiple sidewalk, safety and SmartScale projects.
Lynchburg transportation staff briefed the City Council work session on the principal federal and state funding programs the city uses to build and repair roads, sidewalks and bridges, and listed projects that are moving toward design or construction.
Staff described federal programs including SmartScale (a highly competitive, two-year cycle program used for larger projects), the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP, traditionally 80% federal/20% local used for sidewalks and trails), Safe Routes to School (100% federal), and the Highway Safety Improvement Fund (systemic safety improvements). "They score on safety, congestion, and any environmental impacts," a presenter said of SmartScale applications.
On state funding, staff reviewed revenue sharing (50% state/50% local, two-year cycle), and state-of-good-repair funds for pavements and bridges (yearly cycles). Staff said Lynchburg has been successful in revenue sharing historically and summarized multi-program totals since about 2007: SmartScale roughly $123,000,000 (city projects funded), TAP about $2.5 million, Safe Routes about $0.5 million, highway safety nearly $9 million, revenue sharing about $63.9 million, state pavement repair about $3.5 million, and state bridge repair about $17 million.
Staff listed upcoming or active projects: Nationwide Drive sidewalk (entering construction), Old Forest Road pedestrian improvements, a signal at Link Road and Boonesborough (public meeting May 29), a Wards Ferry Road turn lane, the CVCC roundabout and Callers Mountain interchange (SmartScale-funded), Millrace Drive sidewalk phases for the industrial park, Florida Avenue sidewalk improvements, and a Bedford Avenue bridge project described as approximately $24 million. Staff cautioned that some state bridge funds are restricted to repair only and cannot add width or sidewalks without other funding; staff said Bedford Avenue will include extra work funded by combining sources.
Council members asked about visual materials and where plans or sketches can be found. Staff said preliminary sketches are included in applications and that a capital/CIP dashboard and GIS contain project information, but full plan sets can be hundreds of pages and are not always attached to public dashboards. Staff offered to prepare reader-friendly summaries or visuals for members seeking an overview.
Members also asked about road-diet studies on corridors such as Leesville Road. Staff said a VDOT multi-jurisdictional STARS study for Leesville examined pedestrian and bicycle improvements and driveway consolidation, and recommended bringing on a transportation consultant for traffic modeling before pursuing lane-reduction options. On bridges, staff said the Bedford Avenue Bridge is currently rated poor and that the city has roughly 72 bridges and culverts; other bridges were rated fair or better.
Ending: Staff said they will provide follow-up materials and answered members’ questions about staging, detours and timelines for major projects such as the Bedford Avenue bridge replacement.
