Unlike much of Richmond's bumpy history, Monument Avenue will be a smooth ride after next week. The Department of Public Works says that they will resurface the famous avenue starting next Monday and continuing through the week. The construction project will restore the asphalt on Monument Ave from Thompson Street to the Boulevard.
Residents can expect periodic lane closures along with special parking restrictions during the construction project.
8 News reports on one Richmond city councilman's concerns about the bumpy strip of asphalt known as Kensington Avenue:
The Department of Public Utilities says that residents of the 200 block of North Boulevard will likely lose their water service tomorrow morning. The outage is expected to last from 7 AM-11 AM while DPU makes repairs to subterranean water pipes.
DPU offers the following tips for residents to enjoy some water tomorrow morning:
Fill the bathtub tonight and get a bucket or big saucepan to scoop, then you have water to flush the toilet, shave, wash up in the sink and make coffee in the morning.
Traveling around the museums is going to be a bit difficult this weekend as the Department of Public Utilities announced southbound lanes of Boulevard will close for construction. From 7 PM tonight until 6 AM on Monday southbound Boulevard will be closed to traffic between Kensington Ave & Grove Ave.
DPU advises travelers to use the following detour around the construction zone:
Motorists traveling south along N. Boulevard will be detoured right onto Kensington Ave; left onto N. Belmont Ave; left onto Grove Ave. and a right back onto N. Boulevard. Motorists traveling west toward N. Boulevard on Stuart Ave and Hanover Ave will be advised at N. Mulberry St. that there will be no left turns at N. Boulevard.
Even bridges need spring cleaning and maintenance crews from the Richmond Metropolitan Authority will pull an all-nighter to spruce up the Boulevard Bridge. From midnight Wednesday until 6 AM the following day workers will perform improvement and cleaning work on the bridge such as curb line sweeping and street light replacement.
The Boulevard Bridge will close to all traffic during the overnight project and motorists will need to find another way across the mighty James River.
Just in time for the VMFA Grand Opening a large stretch of North Boulevard is now sporting a fresh coat of smooth pavement. The pothole and bump free section of northbound lanes extends from the intersection of Grove Ave. and Boulevard to Hanover Ave.
The Richmond Department of Public Utilities tells us that subterranean work in front of the museums is now likely completed and that the remainder of the North Boulevard project will conclude in mid-June.
Are you a right lane driver? Tough! The Richmond Department of Public Utilities says that this week motorists traveling down the 3300 block of West Cary Street will need to merge left to make way for construction crews slicing through the pavement.
DPU tells us that the 9 AM - 5 PM construction project is necessary to install water service beneath the pavement.
During the construction parking will be significantly restricted in the immediate area and motorists can expect minor delays while traveling through Carytown.
The first of several sign changes commenced at the Carytown Ukrop's shopping center this morning as workers removed old signage from the First Market Bank branch. Professionals from Superior Signs worked through the morning to transition the former First Market Bank to Union First Market Bank.
According to Richmond Biz Sense the folks at Superior Signs will be back in the next month to replace the Ukrops grocery store signs with shiny new Martin's signs. An official with Superior Signs told Biz Sense that the old Ukrops signs will likely be discarded however the firm will be happy to give the signs to anyone that wants one. First dibs on the giant Ukrops Valued Customer Card at the Carytown location?
Learn about the First Market Bank changes at the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Learn about the identity changes coming to Ukrops supermarkets at Richmond Biz Sense
Work started early this morning for a team from Holiday Signs who braved the elements at 7:30 AM to commence the removal of the Connecticut sculpture from the Diamond. The skilled team from the sign company volunteered their time to help relocate the famous Native American sculpture to its new home atop the Lucky Strike building in Shockoe Bottom.
By 10:30 AM most of the sculpture was extracted from the stadium structure and awaiting transport to a temporary storage facility. The 350 pound fiberglass components of the sculpture appeared to be in excellent condition after adorning the exterior of the diamond for several decades.
An official with the sign company tells us that the removal process was not without a few bumps. A worker with the firm involved with the extraction fell nearly 12 feet and required ambulance transport to an area hospital.
Check out Richmond BizSense's great article on the transfer of the sculpture to its new home.
The Richmond Department of Public Utilities confirms that southbound lanes of Boulevard will close tonight for construction of a 42 inch water transmission pipe. The southbound lanes between Kensington Ave & Grove Ave will close at 7 PM tonight and likely re-open Sunday afternoon. DPU tells us that if rain remains a problem on Sunday the lanes will likely re-open early.
DPU recommends the following detour around the construction zone:
Motorists traveling south along N. Boulevard will be detoured right onto Kensington Ave; left onto N. Belmont Ave; left onto Grove Ave. and a right back onto N. Boulevard. Motorists traveling west toward N. Boulevard on Stuart Ave and Hanover Ave will be advised at N. Mulberry St. that there will be no left turns at N. Boulevard.
Northbound travel lanes will remain open throughout the weekend.
It's wheels down for the construction trailers outside the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as the massive expansion project nears completion. For several years the mobile structures have adorned the front lawn of the VMFA serving as home base for the workers involved in the project.
Today workers are disassembling the remaining trailers and preparing them for their journey to the next big construction project.
The departure of the trailers is fortuitous for the Boulevard as March marks the beginning of tornado season and these violent vortices are known for their attraction to trailers. The transport of the trailers from the Boulevard area surely spares the corridor from certain doom.
The Department of Public Utilities tells us that all lanes of the Boulevard will be open tonight and through the weekend as the planned construction project has now been postponed. The construction related lane closings are now scheduled for the weekend of March 12-14.
This post references our earlier story about the closings are suggested detour.
Traveling south on Boulevard this weekend is going to get dicey if your route takes you through the intersections of Kensington Ave. and Grove Ave. The Department of Public Utilities will shutdown all southbound lanes of the heavily travelled thoroughfare from 7 PM on Friday night through 6 PM on Sunday.
The lane closure is necessary for DPU workers to install a 43 inch water transmission main below the road surface.
Says DPU on the recommended detour around this construction effort:
Motorists traveling south along N. Boulevard will be detoured right onto Kensington Ave; left onto N. Belmont Ave; left onto Grove Ave. and a right back onto N. Boulevard. Motorists traveling west toward N. Boulevard on Stuart Ave and Hanover Ave will be advised at N. Mulberry St. that there will be no left turns at N. Boulevard.
Are you headed North on Boulevard? DPU says it will be smooth sailing through this entire area.
Are you tired of jarring bumps while traveling down your favorite Richmond streets and avenues? Well if you count Broad Street and Monument Avenue among your favorite thoroughfares then that much needed relief may be on the way according to the Department of Public Works.
The street maintenance department released its 2010 paving plan for city streets and we can look forward to large swaths of these heavily travelled routes to be restored to a smooth surface.
In the spring paving season DPW will commence construction on 4.8 lane miles of Monument Ave from Thompson to the Boulevard. The road restoration project is estimated to cost $500,000.
A larger paving project will enhance bumpy Broad Street from Belvidere to the Boulevard. The 9.4 lane mile project will cost an estimated $850,000.
Richmond BizSense reports that the City of Richmond and the Carytown Merchants Association are working together to enhance the West Cary Street shopping destination. BizSense says the most notable improvements will include:
...construction of brick crosswalks, extending curbings at selected corners along Cary , adding colored, rubberized matting at curbing cutouts to aid visually impaired pedestrians, and erecting a new marble and metal entranceway sign for Carytown that will stand 20-feet high.
The brick crosswalks are intended to enhance the aesthetics of the area, he said. Brick crosswalks have been done in other areas of the city, such as along North Boulevard , just north of Broad Street .
The crosswalks, curb extensions and cutouts will initially be done at Carytown’s three busiest intersections – Dooley, Belmont and Sheppard streets, Broomfield said.
Check out Richmond BizSense's indepth article on the Carytown enhancements
