Roanoke County board backs four grant applications for greenways, crosswalk and railroad study

The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Sept. 23 to adopt a resolution supporting four applications to the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization for federal and state funding.

County transportation staff presented the requests, which cover mainly design and preliminary engineering work. "The service transportation block grant and carbon reduction program requests are 100% state and federal funding with no local match," said Megan Cronice, the county staff member who presented the projects. She said the applications will be scored by the Transportation Technical Committee, considered by the TPO in March or April, and — if recommended — forwarded to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for inclusion in the Six-Year Improvement Program in June 2026.

The four projects in the resolution are: - West Roanoke River Greenway Phase 2: preliminary engineering, design estimate $1,210,000. This phase would continue the greenway, including a river-adjacent alignment and gabion retaining walls. - East Roanoke River Greenway gap: 30% design for a remaining corridor segment; preliminary engineering estimate $2,725,000. - Brambleton Avenue mid-block crosswalk: design, right-of-way and construction for a mid-block crosswalk near Cave Spring Middle School with pedestrian-activated flashing lights, a refuge island and a lowered speed limit; the presenter's estimate for all phases was about $2,000,107. - Railroad crossing elimination study: planning and 30% design to replace two at-grade crossings with a single bridge (study estimate $515,000).

Board members stressed the limited scope of the current requests. "This is just for design and engineering only," Supervisor North said, urging listeners to understand the grants do not fund full construction. Several supervisors noted the potential for much higher construction costs once engineering is complete; one supervisor referenced prior estimates in the tens of millions per mile for greenway construction.

Cronice said staff will "baby-step" projects through design so later phases will have more accurate cost estimates and better chances of securing construction funding. The board moved and seconded the resolution; clerk-conducted roll call recorded affirmative votes from the supervisors present and the resolution passed.

Next steps: staff will submit the SDBG/CRP applications to the Roanoke Valley TPO by the application deadline; the TPO's schedule calls for TTC scoring in the winter, the TPO to act in March/April 2026 and CTB adoption in June 2026.