National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration begin next phase of Colonial Parkway Rehabilitation

Date:
October 15, 2024
Contact: John Warren, (215) 908-3159

Yorktown, Va. - In November, Colonial National Historical Park will move into a second phase of repairs to the historic Colonial Parkway. Made possible with approximately $123 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund, the full project is expected to be completed by June 2026.

Segments of the parkway will be closed during the rehabilitation to facilitate safe and effective working conditions. To learn more about the project, citizens can attend an informal public meeting on Oct. 24.

"We are excited to enter this new and final major phase of construction on the Parkway Rehabilitation Project and begin the process of lifting some closures from the first phase," said Superintendent Jerri Marr. "We understand the impacts that these closures and openings have on local travel and appreciate your patience and understanding as we enter the next critical phase of this project. Please continue to observe speed limit signs and read the messages on the electronic variable message signs, detour signs, caution signs and closure signs."

Completed in 1957, time and use have taken a toll on the scenic 23-mile-long parkway that connects the sites of Virginia's historic triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. The bucolic roadway, stretching from the York River at Yorktown to the James River at Jamestown, provides millions of annual visitors with dramatic open vistas of rivers and tidal estuaries as well as shady passageways through pine and hardwood forests as they travel through 400 years of American colonial history.

The first phase of construction is nearing completion. The next phase, which will begin next month, will have a new set of closures and detours. The traveling public, including bikers and pedestrians, need to be aware of these closures, which are critical to protecting the health and safety of both workers and visitors. Due to the presence of heavy machinery, construction traffic, rubble, voids, uneven lanes and surfaces-and, in some cases, closed bridges-the National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Highway Administration will close segments of the parkway to all visitors, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Residents, stakeholders, and those interested in learning more about the rehabilitation-including project accomplishments, closures and detours, future phases and public safety topics-are invited to attend an informational public meeting on Oct. 24, 2024. The meeting will be held at:

James City County Government Center
Building F
Board of Supervisor's Room
101 Mounts Bay Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185

Doors will open at 6 p.m., with brief presentations at 6:30 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will follow an open house format, with opportunities for questions and review of details with project staff. The County Government Center is accessible, with available parking and accessible spaces in the meeting rooms. For those unable to attend in person, accessible project information will be available on the Colonial Parkway Rehabilitation website following the meeting. The website will continue to offer project news, updates and information on closures, detours, and other impacts, as it has since last year.

New work closures will begin at Penniman Road Bridge up to, and including, the area known as the Williamsburg Circle. (The Williamsburg Circle is the intersection of the Colonial Parkway and Visitor Center Drive/VA 132Y in Williamsburg.) Meanwhile, the current closure from VA Route 199 to the Williamsburg Circle will remain in effect. That means the Colonial Parkway will be closed, with no visitor access from Penniman Road Bridge, through Williamsburg to VA Route 199. Visitors should follow posted detour signs.

As work is completed and conditions become safe, NPS will reopen segments of the road. The closure from Felgate's Creek to Cheatham Annex, for example, will be lifted when this phase beings. Visitors will be able to travel along the parkway from Fusiliers Road to Cheatham Annex (Sanda Avenue). Additionally, as work completes within the segment that runs from VA Route 199 to Williamsburg Circle, sections will reopen when it is safe to do so.

The current closures from Ballard Street in Yorktown to Fusiliers Road and both US Highway 17 access ramps will remain in effect throughout this new phase of the project. When work is substantially complete and bridges are replaced, NPS will reopen this section of the parkway.

The park began the Colonial Parkway's first major rehabilitation in nearly 70 years last August. Ten miles of the Colonial Parkway will be repaired between now and July 2026, when the nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of independence. This investment will revitalize infrastructure that has served for up to 90 years, ensuring its functionality for the next 40 to 50 years.

The overall project scope includes the rehabilitation of exposed pavement, repair of eleven bridges, and rehabilitation of the Williamsburg Tunnel. The work will also enhance climate resilience through improved stormwater management, reconditioned shoulders and ditches, enlarged culverts and armored drainage channels. The project preserves the cultural landscape by replicating historic exposed aggregate pavement, brick bridges and brick culvert headwalls.

GAOA is part of a comprehensive effort to address the extensive deferred maintenance and repair backlog in national parks. Supported by revenue from energy development, the fund provides up to $1.3 billion per year for five years to the NPS to make significant enhancements in national parks to ensure their preservation and provide opportunities for recreation, education, and enjoyment for current and future visitors.

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E X P E R I E NC E YOUR AME R I C A ™

The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

About Colonial National Historical Park. Colonial National Historical Park was established in 1930 to preserve important 17th and 18th century sites that tell the story of English colonization and the struggle for American independence. Jamestown's legacy includes representative government, but also slavery, a brutal institution that spread throughout the colonies. At Yorktown, Virginia, colonists fought in the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. The 23-mile Colonial Parkway links the sites and is recognized as an "All-American Road". Learn more www.nps.gov/colo.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 431 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.

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