Forest Hill Avenue construction woes return in Richmond
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Another year, another round of Forest Hill Avenue lane closures and traffic headaches. Photo: Karri Peifer/Axios
South Richmonders and Forest Hill Avenue commuters are once again dealing with a monthslong lane closure through the busy commercial corridor.
Why it matters: There's been nearly nonstop construction — and traffic changes to accommodate it — along Forest Hill in Stratford Hills since 2018.
- And road users are starting to drive like they're over it.
State of play: The city's latest project is replacing "end-of-life" water mains under Forest Hill Avenue between Hathaway Road and Chippenham Parkway — or roughly between the Sheetz and the Wawa.
- Work began July 20, as did channeling westbound traffic to one lane within the work zone, just past the Powhite exit.
- Construction is expected to last three months.
The intrigue: The city recently implemented new strategies to minimize disruptions after years of traffic headaches for the roughly 33,000 drivers who pass through the corridor daily, including placing cones closer together so cars wouldn't weave between them, per city docs.
Yes, but: Now Forest Hill drivers are weaving into turning lanes — and sometimes oncoming traffic — to get around the logjam, Axios observed.
- Part of the frustration for this round of lane closures seems to be that two traffic lights at the start of the closure — at Hathaway and Melbourne — aren't synced to allow traffic to move through both at once, creating a bottleneck.
- Fourth District Councilwoman Sarah Abubaker asked city transportation officials last week to adjust the signal timing there for the duration of the project, she tells Axios.
- She sent them a reminder on Monday, she adds.
What they're saying: "While I'm extremely grateful for the significant City investments into critical infrastructure, I recognize that the implementation of this project has had some unintended consequences, particularly in traffic flow," Abubaker tells Axios.
Flashback: Among the recent work on Forest Hill in Stratford Hills:
- A collapsed sewer line within that footprint resulted in multiple Forest Hill Avenue lane closures for around eight months in 2024.
- Phase two of that project brought more closures for another two months last year.
- And a $13 million Forest Hill improvement plan between Powhite Parkway and Hathaway Road caused major road disruptions for four years, until it wrapped in 2021 — 18 months behind schedule.
What's next: The latest Forest Hill project should wrap up in October and all of South Richmond hopes it's the last one for a while.