Project Overview
City of Lynchburg to Host Pop-Up Event
The City of Lynchburg’s project team along with the Economic Development and Tourism Team is hosting an informal, drop-in style pop-up event for the US 501/US 221 Intersection Improvement (Split Pair) Project on Wednesday, October 22, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., beside the Petco store at 3901 Old Forest Road. Have one-on-one conversations with project team members and learn more about the project.
Field Crews in the Area
Field crews are working to survey and investigate the project area. Please exercise caution while crews are conducting this work.
Property owners in the project area will be contacted by McCormick Taylor, Inc. 30 days prior to the start of any work on private property that may become necessary.
Project Overview
The purpose of the US 501 and US 221 Split Pair Intersection Improvement Project is to improve safety, increase capacity, and reduce delays along US 501 and US 221, which currently present some of the highest levels of congestion in the City of Lynchburg. Continued commercial, retail, and housing growth has pushed the intersection over capacity, as exhibited by delays experienced during the peak hours of travel.
The project area focuses on the US 501 (Lynchburg Expressway) and US 221 (Lakeside Drive) intersection and extends north to the railroad bridge on Old Forest Road and north to the railroad bridge on the Desmond T. Doss Expressway, and east of Country Place Lane on US 221.
The City of Lynchburg is committed to delivering a robust communications and engagement effort to keep the public informed, including a toll-free project hotline: 1-USS-501-PAIR (1-877-501-7247) and additional online resources to provide convenient access to current project activities, milestones, meeting announcements, and more. The public may also sign up for project updates and submit questions and comments here or by calling 1-USS-501-PAIR over the course of the project.
October 22, 2025, Pop-Up Event
The City of Lynchburg’s project team along with the Economic Development and Tourism Team is inviting the public to an informal, drop-in style pop-up event focused on the US 501/US 221 Intersection Improvement (Split Pair) Project on Wednesday, October 22, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., beside the Petco store at 3901 Old Forest Road, in the Lakeside Crossing Shopping Center.
Project Phases
1) Scoping Design
This design phase begins with early engineering activities involving surveying, roadway and bridge geometry, traffic data collection, hydrologic and hydraulic evaluation, initial public participation, environmental permitting, and overall design concept development.
2) Preliminary Design
This phase focuses on continued engineering development involving roadway and bridge design, traffic data analysis, maintenance of traffic, drainage and stormwater management design, environmental assessments, and beginning utility coordination. This phase also includes additional public outreach efforts.
3) Detailed Design
This phase entails further refinement of the preliminary design to determine right-of-way and utility impacts, utility coordination, detailed design of roadway, structures, and bridges, and other logistics and technical coordination to ensure the project is ready to move forward.
4) Final Design
This phase includes finalizing design work and right-of-way acquisitions, including roadway alignments and cross sections, structural components, finalization of erosion and sedimentation plans, obtaining environmental permits, and other plan finalization prior to construction. Technical specifications, bid documents, and refined construction cost estimates will be prepared. The detailed design will be finalized, and public involvement will continue to ensure transparency with the community.
5) Construction
The construction phase will be planned and executed as the final design is completed and the project progresses.
Project Schedule
