Danville streetscapes getting a facelift

Danville City Council approved a proposal to improve the streetscapes in the River District during its meeting Tuesday night.

Existing sidewalks will be widened using brick pavers on Main Street from Craghead to Floyd streets and on Union Street from Main to Spring streets. Other streetscape improvements will also be made.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will contribute half the estimated $2.8 million cost of the project, with the city paying for the other half from money in its Capital Improvement fund.

The VDOT funds can be used to improve streets, infrastructure and sidewalks, but cannot be used for landscaping, benches, trashcans and other amenities.

Mount Cross Road will also see improvement, thanks to a positive vote from City Council.

The street will be widened to four lanes with a raised grass median from Lowes Drive to Parker Road. From there to Abundant Life Church, Mount Cross Road will become four lanes with a 12-foot center turn lane.

The road from Abundant Life Church to the city limits would remain two lanes but will have wider shoulders.

The overall cost of the project is estimated at $6 million, including $2 million for engineering and right-of-way acquisition.

VDOT allocated $2 million for the preliminary costs and City Council formally accepted the funds. It is anticipated that further funding from VDOT will be available for construction.

» In other action, City Council members also did a first-reading of a plan to expand and improve the Riverwalk Trail.

The city has been awarded $97,000 in federal funds for the trail project. The proposal set before City Council asks the money be used to extend the trail along the north side of the Dan River.

The trail would be extended to meet up with the bicycle/pedestrian lane that will be part of the new Robertson Bridge, which is expected to be finished this year.

The proposal calls for the remaining cost of the project to come from a $75,000 allocation from the city’s Special Grants Fund as well as in-kind work supplied by the Public Works Department.

The final vote on the Riverwalk Trail proposal will take place Jan. 17.

City Council also approved the city’s annual legislative program, which pinpoints changes it would like to see in state government.

The key issues in this year’s program is to let the General Assembly know the city opposes any increases in taxes or reductions in state funding — particularly for programs the state requires the city to offer its residents.