Four years after turning down millions in state funding to reconfigure one of Charlottesville’s most urban intersections, the city will try again with a version that would restrict the flow of traffic on three blocks of Water Street.
“Converting Water Street to a one-way simplifies the signal timing at the West Main and Ridge [streets] intersection, improving the peak period capacity of one of the busiest bottlenecks in town,” said Ben Chambers, the city’s transportation planning manager.
In June 2022, City Council terminated its previous attempt, the West Main Streetscape project, to address this intersection. The Virginia Department of Transportation has now been working with Charlottesville on a new design where West Main Street meets Water Street, and Ridge Street meets McIntire Street. Under current conditions, vehicles can also turn east onto South Street…