On Feb. 26, at the Chesterfield County Public Safety Training Center, the public will have an opportunity to learn about revisions to proposed bridges and underpasses, rail crossing closures and other road work in Chesterfield County, that are part of the Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) project.
Revisions were developed throughout the corridor in response to public comments following summer 2010 public hearings on the on the Southeast High Speed Rail, Richmond, Va., to Raleigh, N.C., Tier II Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The SEHSR project would implement nearly 162 miles of higher performance rail as part of an overall plan to extend higher speed passenger rail service from the Boston, Mass., to Washington, D.C. southward through Richmond, Va., to Charlotte, N.C.
In May, 2012 the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division (NCDOT) submitted the Southeast High Speed Rail Tier II Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Recommendation Report to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The Recommendation Report identifies the two states’ recommendations to FRA for the preferred rail alternative for each of the 26 sections of the SEHSR corridor between Richmond, VA, and Raleigh, NC. In Chesterfield County, all rail alternatives follow the same alignment along the existing rail right-of-way.
The preferred alternatives and associated road work will be presented in the upcoming Tier II Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), expected to be published in early 2013. That will be followed by a Record of Decision (ROD) from FRA and a second round of public hearings.
At the February 26th Project Update Meeting, the public will be able to view maps of the preferred rail alternative and revised road work in Chesterfield County including modifications at these locations:
• Station Road
• Chester Road
• Hopkins Road
• Centralia Road
• Curtis Street
• West Street
• Woods Edge Road
• Walthall Industrial Parkway
• Pine Forest Drive
The Project Update Meeting will be held at the Chesterfield County Public Safety Training Center located at 6610 Public Safety Road, Chesterfield, Va. A briefing for elected officials will be held at 4:00 p.m., followed by an open house meeting for the public from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. No formal presentations will be made at the open house meeting.
Maps presenting the preferred alternative and revised roadwork for Chesterfield County are on the project website www.sehsr.org.
