The James City County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday to determine if a lengthy study into what a widened Longhill Road would look like should become the official vision for improving the road in the future.
The widening from two lanes to four, which would run from Route 199 to Centerville Road, is estimated to cost $88.39 million.
Accepting the plan as the county’s vision for the area would allow for transportation planners to start looking for ways to fund the project. Also, the Virginia Department of Transportation would be able to resume preliminary engineering work for widening from Route 199 to Olde Towne Road, which was paused pending completion of the study.
Members of the James City County Planning Division and Kimley Horn and Associates Inc. spent more than a year compiling the results of the study, which took into account citizen feedback along with detailed analyses of current and future usage levels, environmental conditions, bicycle and pedestrian usage and future needs.
Along with an additional lane in each direction, the study calls for a median and a shared use path to run alongside the road. There would also be stoplights installed at Seasons Trace and Warhill Trail and a roundabout at the entrance to Williamsburg Plantation.
The project is split into three phases: the first runs from Route 199 to Olde Towne Road, the second from Olde Towne Road to Warhill Trail, and the third from Warhill Trail to Centerville Road. The study suggests phase one be completed in two to seven years, phase two in seven to 15 years and phase three in 15 to 20 years.
Specific recommendations for handling widening in the area of Lafayette High School and Seasons Trace are not included in the report. Several options were generated during the study, and several more were suggested by the Williamsburg-James City County School Board at an Aug. 19 meeting.
County staff has recommended the supervisors discuss options for handling the area without adding a specific solution to the plan, according to a memorandum from Senior Planner Ellen Cook.
The three phases of the project are among the candidate projects for inclusion in the 2040 long-range plan from the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization. That plan, which is scheduled to be adopted by January 2016, is a list of projects for which that group has identified local, state and federal funding. Projects included on previous versions of the list include the widening of Fort Eustis Boulevard and George Washington Memorial Highway (Route 17).
The board of supervisors will consider the matter at its meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Related Coverage:
- James City County Planners OK Vision for Longhill Road Improvements
- WJCC School Board Reviews Longhill Widening Proposal, Lafayette High Traffic Flow Options
- JCC Supervisors Keep Widening Projects for Longhill, Croaker Roads on Priority List
- New Plans for Longhill Road Expansion Use Citizen Input
- Citizen Input Used to Design Four-Lane Longhill Road with Roundabouts, Stoplights
- JCC Residents Turn Out to Provide Input on Longhill Road’s Future Look
- JCC Looks to Citizens for Longhill Road Improvement Ideas
- JCC Supes’ Priorities to Include Widening Roads
- JCC Supes to Look at Plan for Secondary Road Projects
