Recently Completed

Benefits

As a result of this project, the Bon Air commercial district enjoys improved pedestrian access, lighting, landscaping and drainage.

Features

Sidewalks and lighting were added along portions of Buford Rd, Forest Hill Road and McRae Roads. The following locations have sidewalks installed:

• Buford Rd. - Southbound from Huguenot Road to the Bon Air Baptist Church (at Choctaw Rd.) and northbound from Forest Hill Avenue to Huguenot Road.
• McRae Rd. - Northbound from Huguenot Road to Forest Hill Avenue. No southbound sidewalks.
• Forest Hill Ave. - Eastbound from Huguenot Road to McRae Road and from Buford Road to Choctaw Road. Westbound from Choctaw Road to Tinsley Drive and from Buford Road to McRae Road.
• Choctaw Rd. - Eastbound and westbound from Buford Road to Forest Hill Avenue.

Project Updates

As part of this project, many mature trees were removed. VDOT environmental staff and local landowners were consulted before this decision was finalized. While these trees supplied natural beauty to the area, there are several factors that led to the mutual decision to remove the trees:

• The plans called for sidewalks and lighting in front of the trees, necessitating cutting some of the roots during construction. For instance, the light pole foundations are 30" in diameter and 48" deep and the lighting conduit needs to be 18” deep.
• Most of the trees in question were willow oaks that have a very shallow root system. Many of the tree roots were already visible at the surface.
• The fact that the tree roots run close to the surface would likely result in the new sidewalk being skewed or broken as the trees continued to grow. This would result in a safety hazard to pedestrians.
• The mature trees would likely have died after the construction was finished due to the disturbance to their root systems.

Contacts

Chesterfield, 804.674.2800
Public Affairs, 804.524.6387