VDOT schedules citizen information meeting for Route 11 corridor improvements in Augusta County

STAUNTON — The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a citizen information meeting concerning proposed improvements to the Route 11 (Lee-Jackson Highway) corridor in Augusta County. The open-house meeting will take place Wednesday, May 15, 2024, between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Dairy Barn Lecture Hall at the Frontier Culture Museum, 1290 Richmond Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401.

Citizens can come in anytime during the meeting hours and discuss the project on a one-on-one basis with VDOT officials and designers. Written comments can be submitted at the meeting or within 10 days after the meeting date to Scott Alexander. P.E., Project Manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 811 Commerce Road, Staunton, VA 24401-9029.

The purpose of this project is to improve operational safety for the Route 11 corridor from the intersection with Route 1049 (Rolling Thunder Lane), through the interchange with Route 262, to the intersection with Barterbrook Road near the southern city limits of Staunton. This portion of Route 11 currently has two through-lanes in each direction and a two-way left-turn lane in the center of the roadway.

Between Rolling Thunder Lane and Barterbrook Road the project will replace the center turn lane with raised medians that allow left turns only at designated median openings. Most of the commercial access driveways and side streets will be restricted to right turns in and out between Payne Lane and Barterbrook Road. This will reduce crashes by restricting the number of conflict points onto Route 11. The project proposes minor lane modifications between Rolling Thunder Lane and Frontier Drive.

The project will construct a sidewalk on the eastern side of Route 11 from Frontier Drive to the existing sidewalk near the Staunton city limits. Multimodal improvements also include crosswalks, ADA-compliant facilities, and traffic signal modifications.

A Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions (STARS) study of Route 11 from Rolling Thunder Lane to Commerce Avenue in the city of Staunton was completed in 2018. This segment of Route 11 in Augusta County was included in the study. The recommendations for operational and safety improvements were submitted by Augusta County and funded in the 2020 SMART SCALE Round 4.

In 2022 this segment of Route 11 had an average traffic county of 12,127 vehicles per day. By the design year of 2048 the estimated daily traffic volume is 13,700 vehicles per day.

The total estimated cost of this project is $3,344,819 which includes $607,708 for preliminary engineering, $665,359 for right of way acquisition and utility relocation, and $2,071,752 for construction.

Additional information about the Route 11 corridor improvement project is found at: https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/staunton-district/augusta-county---route-11-lee-jackson-highway-corridor-improvements/.

The VDOT Staunton District serves Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke, Warren, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, Alleghany and Bath counties.

The Staunton District X (Twitter) feed is at @VaDOTStaunton. VDOT can be followed on Facebook, Flickr, X (Twitter) and YouTube. RSS feeds are also available for statewide information. The VDOT Web page is located at https://www.vdot.virginia.gov.