City Completes Several Downtown Major Transportation and Bridge Improvement Projects

Motorists can expect smoother traffic flow next week in the area of the 5th Street and the 7th Street bridges over Leigh Street.  The rehabilitated 5th Street Bridge will open Monday morning. The 7th Street Bridge re-opened in June.  Both bridges were closed earlier this year when the $3.6 million dollar refurbishment began.  The Leigh Street corridor between 5th and 7th streets, which closed during construction, also re-opens on Monday.

In Shockoe Bottom, the two-way traffic conversion of 17th Street between East Broad and Grace streets will open to traffic on Monday. The traffic pattern change is one of several improvements included in the $614,000 project funded by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Improvement Program under the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act. 
Other areas recently upgraded and now open to traffic include: 

• 17th Street, two-way traffic from Broad Street to Franklin Street
• 18th Street, two-way traffic from Grace Street to Broad Street
• Franklin Street, two-way traffic from 17th Street to 19th Street
• 19th Street, two-way traffic from Grace Street to Main Street

The 19th Street two-way conversion also includes back-in angle parking to aid in increasing parking spaces in the area. Franklin Street between 18th and 19th streets has also been uncovered and restored to a cobblestone surface. 

The Shockoe Bottom improvements are plans that were included in the City Master Plan and recommended in the Shockoe Bottom Transportation Study

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