Holland Road discussion set
Published 9:44 pm Monday, November 29, 2010
Holland Road improvements and paving projects throughout the city will lead a discussion of transportation projects during the Suffolk City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Council members are scheduled to talk about spending federal stimulus funds to pave some city roads, and they are expected to ask the Virginia Department of Transportation to classify improvements to Holland Road as an urban highway project, which would provide an opportunity for the city to get federal and state help in paying for widening the road.
The council also will hold public hearings on water projects and street name changes. The meeting will be held in City Council chambers, 441 Market St., at 7 p.m. A work session will precede the regular meeting at 5 p.m.
The city is receiving about $276,000 in federal stimulus funds from the Federal Highway Administration. It proposes to use the extra money to pave U.S. Route 58 from the Holland Bypass to Lummis Road; Carolina Road from the Norfolk Southern rail crossing to the intersection of Whaleyville Boulevard; and Whaleyville Boulevard from John Mullen Road to Boonetown Road.
Suffolk first received money for repaving through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last year. The city planned to pave other sections of Holland Road, Carolina Road and Whaleyville Boulevard with that money.
City Council also will consider establishing Holland Road improvements as an urban highway project, a designation that is needed to receive state or federal money for the project.
In addition to widening the roadway, the project also would include upgrades to intersections and traffic signals, access improvements at business intersections and a separate bicycle path. The design of the project is being paid for by CenterPoint Properties, which is developing a massive intermodal center along Holland Road.
Wednesday’s meeting also will include two public hearings on street name changes, one clarifying the name of Edward Avenue in the Sadler Heights subdivision and one dealing with street name conflicts on Highland Avenue and East Pinner Street. A third public hearing will be held to consider approving an agreement with the Western Tidewater Water Authority and Isle of Wight County to transfer the Crittenden Well and Pipeline to the authority.
In a work session before the regular meeting, council members will hear an update on U.S. Joint Forces Command. In closed session, they will discuss the sale of the old Health Department building at 1217 N. Main St.