Albemarle County outlines US‑250 corridor upgrades, Free Bridge Lane pilot and MicroCAT ridership in Pantops update

Albemarle County planning staff on Wednesday updated the Pantops Community Advisory Committee on a slate of transportation projects affecting the Pantops area, emphasizing safety, pedestrian access and funding timelines for state‑led improvements along U.S. 250 and Route 20.

The county’s deputy director of planning, Kevin McDermott, led the presentation and laid out project status, funding sources and expected schedules for several major items in and around the Pantops development area. “My name is Kevin McDermott. I’m the deputy director of planning,” he told the committee before reviewing corridor projects, pilot programs and the county’s comprehensive plan update.

The most advanced projects are two SmartScale awards on U.S. 250. One, described as U.S. 250 East Corridor Improvements from Route 20 to Rolkin Road, is an operational, pedestrian‑safety and access management project that includes a continuous median with limited openings, new sidewalk segments and ADA ramp upgrades; McDermott said design is nearly complete, right‑of‑way work is starting and construction is expected to begin early next year with a targeted completion in fall 2028. He said the project’s cost was “just under $6,000,000.”

A second nearby SmartScale project—reconstruction of the U.S. 250/Route 20 intersection—will be combined with the corridor work so construction can proceed together. The county’s estimate for that intersection reconstruction, which includes rebuilt signals, turn lanes and pedestrian facilities, was about $8,800,000; McDermott said both projects are on the same construction schedule.

A larger SmartScale recommendation covering U.S. 250 from Rolkin Road to Peter Jefferson Parkway was presented as a separate, bigger package of pedestrian, access‑management and…