Construction on Wathen Lane is scheduled to begin on March 4 and will last until December, if all goes well, said the design manager of the project.
Stephen Sewell, of Palmer Engineering out of Winchester, led a community meeting Wednesday evening in which he gave a brief overview of what would occur in the 9-plus-months-long project while also answering questions from a crowd that lives in the area.
City officials were also there to answer questions.
Among the main points made by Sewell:
- The project will be divided into three phases. Phase 1 entails work from U.S. 60 to just north of the intersection of Hillmont Drive and Wathen Lane; phase 2 is from that point north of the Hillmont Drive intersection to a point north of the Wolf Hills Boulevard intersection; Phase 3 is from that point north of the Wolf Hills Boulevard intersection to just beyond Braxton Park, where the road turns into a county road.
- During phase 2, the road will be closed in the area where work is being done. That means that residents who leave their neighborhood via Wolf Hills Boulevard must drive north on Wathen Lane and hook up with Green River Road or Wolf Hills Road. Residents who leaved from Hillmont will need to drive south to U.S. 60.
- People driving on the road should expect delays during the life of the construction. One lane will be closed during the work, when flaggers will direct traffic
- Residents of connecting neighborhoods will always have access to their homes
- During phase 2 work, a hilly section at the intersection of Wathen Lane and Wolf Hills Boulevard will require work to lower a high point and raise a low point, creating a level roadway to better see traffic from both directions
- The work includes widening the road, building curbs and gutters, putting in a waterline on the east side of the street and laying down an 8-foot wide multi-use path on the west side of the street. When complete, the width curb-to-curb will be 24 feet. Currently, the width varies from 18 to 20 feet along the road
- The construction is expected to last until Dec. 15.
