George,

If you really think this road is a "done deal" and construction is underway, come to a meeting scheduled for March 19 at 11 am [location TBD] and you will see that it is not the case If you come to this meeting and/or if the media cover it, you will see why the project is still uncertain and problematical; The Interchange design is up in the air, the connection between the interchange and the McIntire road Extended is still being considered, The fact is that the road and the design of the interchange has become more uncertain in that last few months. (see below)

The Meadowcreek Parkway is the name given to that section of the proposed road that is still unbuilt but which would go from Rio Rd to the city boundary. The couny can do what they want with that section. But the city porrtion is still up in the air and it is far from certain that it will be built. It may be that the publicity surrounding the telephone pole realignment is partly an effort to convince people that the critical portion of the road (in the city and through the park) and called McIntire Road Extended has been settled. Wrong.

McIntire Road Extended, which is the portion of the proposed - and still contested - portion of what is commonly thought of as the Meadowcreek Parkway, is still hotly contested. This portion of the road depends upon the City approving a design for an interchange at 250 and Mcintire, and that design and process has a long ways to go before any road will be built in the city.
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The McIntire Prk golf course has been determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places which, in effect, means that it is actually on the National Register for purposes of reviewing the road for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

The State Department of Historic Resources has strongly criticized the city for not following federal guidelines for planning the interchange consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act. The DHR has been meeting with City officials, the City's consultants, and Charlottesville citizens who agree with DHR that the city has ignored historic preservation guidelines. Those individuals include Rich Collins, Dan Bluestone, Peter Kleeman, Mary Howard and Colette Hall. These citizens enjoy official status as "consulting parties" appointed by the Federal Highway Administration, and these citizens are questioning the design of the interchange and challenging the idea that it is separate from the McIntire Road Extended.

The most important issue is whether the McIntire Road Extended and the interchange are really part of one "project." If it should be determined that they are one project, it is unlikely that the interchange can be built with federal money because of federal laws that proscribe breaking projects into sections, some of which are paid for by federal funds and some by state funds in order to evade federal laws that prohibit using federal money for roads through parks unless there is no "prudent and feasible alternative." This in turn, jeopardizes the whole project, because a new road emptying at 250 without some kind of interchange would be a nightmare.

Come to the meeting on Wedneday March 19 and make your own determination of whether this road is "finally being built".

Rich Collins (Electronic mail, March 11, 2008)