“We are waiting to hear what Judge Swett decides and it’s been a month already and we think that’s a good sign, because he is giving it a lot of consideration,” says John Cruickshank, president of the local chapter of the Sierra Club and member of the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park. On May 19, Cruickshank and other coalition members appeared in front of Judge Jay Swett as part of the latest lawsuit filed against the city and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to stop the construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway (MCP).
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McIntire Park “is the only affected historic resource, so we are currently working through mitigating the effects of the roadway projects on McIntire Park,” said Jeanette Janiczek, Charlottesville VDOT Program Manager in a report to City Council. |
And the issue is a hot one. Just last week, equipment being used for the construction of the county’s portion of the Meadowcreek Parkway was set on fire on Melbourne Road near the Charlottesville High School football field. At a press briefing, County spokesperson Lee Catlin said that it was still too early to know whether this act of vandalism was meant to protest the construction of the parkway, and an investigation is underway. “The Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park condemns that action,” says Cruickshank. “We are trying to save McIntire Park through the courts, and through the political arena.”
Back in court, the group contended that the city has illegally granted VDOT a parcel of land for the MCP with a 3-2 vote. Cruickshank stresses that according to Article 7, Section 9 of the Virginia Constitution, local governments need a supermajority vote—or three-quarters—to transfer land to the state transportation agency. While they wait, the group is bracing for more actions.
“We are meeting with another attorney who is an expert on federal issues,” he says. “We are anticipating that we are going to have to go to federal court to protect McIntire Park.” All federally funded projects must go through extensive environmental reviews according to Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
“We feel that they are segmenting this project in order to evade those environmental laws,” says Cruickshank. The coalition considers MCP as one project, while VDOT stresses that they are three different sections with three different funding sources.
At the City Council meeting last week, Charlottesville VDOT Program Manager Jeanette Janiczek reported on the status of all MCP projects—McIntire Road Extended and the Route 250 Interchange.
While the county’s portion of the MCP began construction in February, the city’s McIntire Road Extended, administered by VDOT, will need to clear the legal issues and other hurdles before advertising for bids.
“We are currently working through the Section 106 process and that’s kind of running the schedule at this point,” said Janiczek. “There is agreement that McIntire Park is the only affected historic resource, so we are currently working through mitigating the effects of the roadway projects on McIntire Park.” In addition, the council will have to decide whether to grant an easement to the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA), current owner of a utility line in the path of construction.
According to Janiczek, the current advertising date for this project is September 2009, but it could easily change. Construction will take up to a year.
The Route 250 Bypass Interchange, which the city is administering for itself, is currently in the early engineering stages, with construction estimated to begin in summer 2010.
The Meadowcreek Parkway, the county portion of the project, is estimated at close to $32 million, $23.5 million in Secondary funds and $8.3 million in Revenue Sharing. McIntire Road Extended is priced at $9.7 million in Urban funds. Route 250 Bypass Interchange will cost $31.5 million: $29.5 million in earmarked SAFETEA-LU, Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act, and $2 million in Revenue Sharing.
City Council can choose to eliminate one or both city projects. But Cruickshank says he predicts that the Council is going “to vote the way they have in the past,” he says.
