NORFOLK, Va. — VDOT has released a study in order to gain feedback on one of Norfolk's regularly congested roads.
For some drivers, it’s hard to avoid Monticello Ave.
“I think it’s inevitable,” said Norfolk resident LaQuita Staten.
“I live in Ghent and I work right downtown," Rehn West, another Norfolk resident said. "Monticello is a big street that I’m constantly having to go down.”
They said it’s easy to hit a backup.
“When the trains are coming right at rush hour, I mean it is just backed up all the way down towards Brambleton,” West said.
“I don’t move as fast as I should," Staten said. "On some other streets, I move faster.”
That is why the VDOT is conducting a study on traffic flow from Monticello Avenue into St. Paul’s Boulevard from East Charlotte Street to Church Street. The purpose is to analyze the operational and safety issues with a focus on providing enhanced pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access as well as congestion mitigation and safety improvements. The goal is to identify cost-effective improvement alternatives that address identified issues.
VDOT leaders cited 392 crashes along the stretch of road from 2018 to 2022. In that same time frame, seven crashes involved pedestrians. Three of those crashes were fatal. Now, they have a survey asking drivers what issues they see on the road.
“Which will guide us toward what improvements are actually proposed,” said VDOT Senior Transportation Planning Specialist Jerry Pauley.
VDOT experts are focused on congestion relief around 26th and 27th Streets as well as here near the I-264 ramps.
Pauley said the improvements will depend on what feedback they get from drivers.
“It may be some turn lanes, it could be an additional lane," Pauley said. "It could be any variety of things.”
Whatever the project looks like in the future, Staten hopes the work will happen soon.
“We want the job done right," Staten said. "We want it fast because the inconvenience of construction is another issue.”
You can take the survey here.