Category Archives: construction

Yet Another Reminder of Construction and Road Closing

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As appeared in the Fan District Association‘s newsletter:

Construction and Road Closing
Starting Thursday, October 5, 2017
The Department of Public Works (DPW) will start construction on the Idlewood Avenue, Grayland Ave, and RMTA on-ramp roundabout. The work is expected to last 120 days. During that time the road will be closed. “Resident and emergency access along Idlewood Avenue shall be maintained at all times. In addition to the roundabout, the project includes:
• Landscaped islands
• Pedestrian crosswalk markings
• Handicap ramps
• New signage
The improvement will reduce vehicle and pedestrian conflict points, provide slower operating speeds for motorists, and shorten the crossing distance.
The project does include up to three (3) weekend closures of the 195 off ramp, including a detour. After all hardscape is installed, the site will be landscaped, stabilized and the erosion measures will be removed. At completion, Idlewood Avenue will be converted to a two-way traffic between Harrison Avenue and Cherry Street.”
If you have questions/concerns, please contact Jian Xu, P.E. at 804-646-5402 or the city’s field inspector, Ned Bailey at 804-646- 1553.

Idlewood Roundabout Construction To Begin In October

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Starting on Thursday, October 5, 2017 the Department of Public Works (DPW) will start construction on the Idlewood Avenue, Grayland Ave, and RMTA on-ramp roundabout. The work is expected to last 120 days. During that time the road will be closed. “Resident and emergency access along Idlewood Avenue shall be maintained at all times. In addition to the roundabout, the project includes:

• Landscaped islands
• Pedestrian crosswalk markings
• Handicap ramps
• New signage

The improvement will reduce vehicle and pedestrian conflict points, provide slower operating speeds for motorists, and shorten the crossing distance.

The project does include up to three (3) weekend closures of the 195 off ramp, including a detour. After all hardscape is installed, the site will be landscaped, stabilized and the erosion measures will be removed. At completion, Idlewood Avenue will be converted to a two-way traffic between Harrison Avenue and Cherry Street.”

If you have questions/concerns, please contact Jian Xu, P.E. at 804-646-5402 or the city’s field inspector, Ned Bailey at 804-646- 1553.

The Portland Loo

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The Urban Design Committee agenda and related documents for the Thursday, September 7, 2017 meeting are now available on the City’s legislative website. The Committee will meet at 10 am in the Conference Room on the 5th Floor of City Hall.

Included is Item 6:

UDC 2017-33 Final Location, Character and Extent review of the “Portland Loo,” to be installed as a public facility, 719 W. Franklin St.

The full agenda can be accessed using the link below.

https://richmondva.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=532506&GUID=B73BAB4F-95E2-49CE-AC1A-9D03AFEC5AE2&Options=&Search=

New Construction For Civil War Museum

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The Times Dispatch has an article on new construction beginning at the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar:

The museum marks a major milestone on that path Monday, when it will break ground on a 29,000-square-foot main exhibit hall and collections storage and preservation center to be built into the hillside at the Tredegar site, incorporating the brick ruins of the old ironworks that powered the Confederate war effort.

The new museum building, at roughly $25 million, will feature a 75-seat immersive “experience theater” that greets visitors on the first floor that aims to tell the story, from all sides, of the war that almost pulled the United States apart. Key themes will revolve around individual decisions and how they were shaped by events.

VCU ICA Building Updates -“Soft Opening For Weekend Postponed”

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VCU officials held a small press conference yesterday to give local media a few updates on their new Institute for Contemporary Art building, which is very close to finishing construction.

While work has been going at a furious pace, a planned “soft opening” and “media walk through” for this weekend was sadly postponed at the last moment.
“The building’s exterior and interior are almost done, but there is still a lot of dangerous equipment and scaffolding around, and therefore still not safe for visitation”, stated one of the smiling, new ICA directors, “We are really looking forward to showing people what we are so excited about, but we need to wait a just little bit longer.” Previews of the ICA have already been featured quite a bit in various area publications.

While the building and site remain strictly off-limits for now, students and interested members of the public can attempt to reserve tickets for some of the future opening events. A student art exhibit on ‘The Potholes of RVA’ as well as a new student documentary about car crashes will be available for viewing. For VIP visitors and donors, there will be a special basement tour and outdoor movie, Artplace (the highly anticipated sequel to 2016’s Workplace).

When asked about the current fundraising situation for the Institute, officials would only state that there is a ‘spring break hiatus’ right now for the campaign as fundraisers tour basketball facilities at the University of Hawaii. When pressed about the promised green building details of the construction, a spokesperson said that while the ICA will not be ‘Platinum LEED’ as initially promised, it should be able to secure ‘Lead LEED’ status without problems, as long as a certain amount of the natural granite from the site can be recycled for planned, new basketball facilities.

Times Dispatch: “Dogs are not banned on Potterfield Bridge, but some injuries reported”

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The Times Dispatch has an article about concerns for dogs walking on the newly-opened T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge.

It does a good job of exploring the concerns and the responses. In conclusion, the City does not disallow dogs on the new bridge, but there are reasons for dog owners to be careful.

This might be a good time to remind everyone of the meeting next week on riverfront development.

(Ed. note: my own personal experience is that when I walked my dogs on the bridge, I did not see any evident injury, but did notice their apprehension. I will certainly be more careful in the future and may not take the dogs on the bridge again.)