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Council previewed 60% design for Chambers/Eaton intersection; NVTA‑funded project remains on schedule for public hearing
Summary
Consultants and staff reviewed updates to the Chambers Road/Eaton Place intersection improvement project (NVTA 70% award of $10.75M), presented crash history and operations data, described access‑management changes and tree mitigation plans, and confirmed a tentative 60% design public hearing on March 25 and planned right‑of‑way work this summer.
City staff and consultants updated council on the Chambers Road/Eaton Place intersection improvement project, now advanced to the 60% design phase and funded in part by a $10.75 million NVTA 70% regional award. The project team described how corridor changes since the original 2018 roundabout concept — including VDOT express‑lane work and added signals — required an updated concept endorsed by council in March 2023 and reconfirmed with NVTA concurrence.
Consultants said crashes at the intersection are a central driver of the work. "There's a total of 76 crashes at this intersection" in the 2017–2022 five‑year window, the team reported, and a high proportion were angle crashes; the team also said two fatalities have occurred in the corridor. Traffic modeling shows that without improvements delay would grow and the intersection could operate at a failing level of service in future years; the endorsed concept, the team said, reduces conflict points by converting the west service road to one‑way, severing east‑side service roads, adding shared‑use paths and sidewalks and increasing southbound lane capacity to address future 2040 volumes.
The team presented a tree inventory covering the project buffer area: 459 trees >=5" diameter were inventoried, of which 146 are proposed for removal within the project limits; many were in poor health or invasive species were present. Staff described an invasive species management and buffer‑management plan and a replanting strategy that would add almost 300 trees and shrubs, tailored to preserve sightlines at crossings and restore canopy where appropriate.
Budget and schedule items: staff said the project remains within the NVTA allocation, public engagement has continued through multiple iterations and the 60% design public hearing is tentatively scheduled for March 25. Right‑of‑way discussions are anticipated this summer for small easements on roughly six properties (three residential), and construction is targeted to begin next year subject to the acquisition and final contracting steps.
Councilmembers and residents raised specific operational and access concerns (including questions about closing or restricting the southbound left from Cambridge into Eaton Place). Staff said prohibiting all southbound lefts was not recommended because it would force large volumes of traffic onto other routes and harm access to businesses and properties; staff agreed to provide updated crash counts beyond 2022 and to continue property‑level outreach during the right‑of‑way phase.
Staff did not request a council vote on design tonight; the 60% design public hearing will be the next formal public‑comment opportunity.
