John Rolfe Parkway Construction In Full Swing

Everyone who lives or works in Short Pump, or even visits only on occasion, knows travel can be hectic at best during peak morning and evening rush hours. With such a high concentration of commercial development in a relatively short stretch of roadway, West Broad Street is sometimes best described as a parking lot. But rest assured, a little relief is on the way.

That relief will come in the way of a new thoroughfare that’s currently under development in Short Pump. Construction of the final portion of Henrico County’s latest road project, John Rolfe Parkway, began earlier this year. The roadway is already open from Lauderdale Drive to Ridgefield Parkway. The portion being built now spans from Ridgefield Parkway to West Broad Street.

Henrico County Traffic Engineer Michael A. Jennings predicts that the road will significantly help with area traffic when combined with other planned area projects. “The construction of John Rolfe Parkway, along with the widening of Pouncey Tract Road by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the North Gayton Road project from West Broad Street to Pouncey Tract Road, is expected to alleviate some of the West Broad Street traffic congestion,” Jennings said. “Pump Road is [also] a major collector road on the county’s Major Thoroughfare Plan and it is expected to be widened in the future.” There aren’t, however, any plans to widen Pump Road in the near future.

The portion of the roadway that will run through the Short Pump area and connect to West Broad Street is located between the Short Pump Station shopping center and the Victory Nissan automobile dealership. Jennings says this section alone (between Church Road and West Broad Street) cost the County upwards of $11.2 million.

With the adjacent West Broad Village mixed use development well underway, there’s an increasing need to get John Rolfe Parkway open as soon as possible. “There is a possibility that the section of John Rolfe Parkway between West Broad Street and Three Chopt Road will be open first,” Jennings explained.

Of course, with a new road comes even more traffic lights to sit through. Jennings says there are many new signals planed for the roadway. “With the County project there will be new traffic signals along John Rolfe Parkway at Three Chopt Road, the new Pump Road intersection, and Church Road. The developers of West Broad Village will be installing a traffic signal at their cost at the entrance into their site between Three Chopt Road and West Broad Street.”

The new road brings with it many changes to the Short Pump landscape, too. Christopher Wishard and his family, Garrett Wishard, Joseph, Elizabeth and Madelyn Birdsell (left) watch as their tree-filled front yard is cleared (below) to make way for Pump Road’s realignment to intersect with John Rolfe Parkway.

It’s interesting to note that the right-of-way for this road was originally intended to serve as the home of Route 288. The roadway lines up with the end of Interstate 295 and would have been connected between the Wal-Mart and Target stores. However, as Jennings explains, plans changed through the years and Route 288 was constructed just to the west in Goochland County. “Henrico County did reserve the right-of-way for this corridor, but neighboring jurisdictions made other choices. Henrico County continued with John Rolfe Parkway because it is an important part of our traffic plan serving transportation needs of the western part of the county. The existing location of 288 was chosen and approved by VDOT.”

While heavy Short Pump traffic may always be a fact of life, it’s good to know that at least some help is on the way. The entire project is planned for completion in Summer 2010.