Work to start soon to replace Fort Ave. bridge destroyed 4 years ago

On April 15, 2008, James Slayton’s business was situated on a busy thoroughfare attracting thousands of passing cars a day.

The next day, it was on a dead-end street.

Slayton, owner of Slayton’s Automotive, is part of a small smattering of business owners who found themselves marooned by the April 16, 2008, fire that destroyed the Fort Avenue bridge.

“It has drastically affected our business,” said Slayton, whose shop now sits a block away from the nearest passing traffic. “We don’t have hardly any walk-in customers anymore since the road’s been closed.”

“I’ve been told many, many times it’s going to be fixed by such-and-such a date,” he said. “But it’s never done.”

The 2008 fire — which consumed an old wooden bridge near its intersection of Park Avenue — left a gaping hole in the road. Traffic has been rerouted around the block ever since.

The city did not immediately repair the damage, because the bridge already was slated to be replaced as part of the long-anticipated Midtown Connector road project.

If the road is fixed as part of the connector project, it will be paid for mostly by federal and state funds. If the city had undertaken the repairs on its own, it would’ve had to pick up the entire tab.

The Midtown Connector’s groundbreaking date repeatedly has been pushed back as delays with property acquisition and other matters cropped up. Three property owners along the 2.1-mile project route are contesting the price the city offered for the slices of land it’s taking.

The price disputes are pending in court, but the city has been able to take immediate possession of the land and is prepared to start construction.

The construction contract has been put out to bid, and the city plans to sift through offers starting in early March. Work is expected to begin in late spring/early summer.

The Fort Avenue bridge chasm will be the first thing addressed.

“Our first priority is to fill in that void and get Fort Avenue back up and running,” said J.P. Morris, project manager for the city, adding they are “keenly focused” on getting a contractor hired so work can begin.

Waiting to fix the bridge as part of the Midtown Connector was the most fiscally responsible decision, city leaders say. But over the years, the lack of visible activity caused many to wonder if anything was happening.

“People ask us all the time when the road’s going to be fixed, and we don’t know what to tell them,” said Travis Harris, a locksmith at Hawkins Lock & Key Co. “We ask, ‘When are you going to fix it?’ And it’s always, ‘Next year, next year.’”

Hawkins Lock, a more than 30-year-old business, has relied on its loyal regulars to keep coming back, Harris added, but it’s taken a hit on walk-in traffic.

Everyone will be glad to see the road fixed, he said.

Even businesses further up the street — which still are easily accessible from Campbell Avenue — found themselves wondering what the hold up is.

“When is it going to get back up and going? That’s the thing,” said Stacey Johnson, assistant manager at Family Dollar, adding it’s “just disappointing” the problem hasn’t been addressed sooner.

The burned-out bridge hasn’t slowed customer traffic at Family Dollar, employees said, but the narrow detour roads have sparked regular complaints from delivery truck drivers.

“It’s a pain,” said stocker Patricia Noble. “It’ll be good when the thing gets fixed … I wish they’d get it done.”

When construction begins on the Midtown Connector, crews will fill the hole left by the bridge and install a new length of road. Work will proceed to neighboring Park Avenue, where crews will tear down another old wooden bridge and replace it with a new length of road.

Other improvements include widening Kemper Street, adding bicycle lanes to a short stretch of Park Avenue and building a roundabout on Langhorne Road.

The Midtown Connector is designed to promote revitalization of the midtown area and construct a better corridor into the center of the city, where Lynchburg General Hospital and other medical facilities are located.

This is the project’s first phase. It’s expected to take 30 months to complete.

Once a contractor is hired, a community meeting will be held so affected neighborhoods will know what to expect during construction.

For Slayton, of Slayton’s Automotive, the work crews can’t show up soon enough.

“I’ll be very happy,” he said.

Slayton’s shop had only been on Fort Avenue for two years when the fire occurred. He considered moving but — given what he could realistically expect to sell the property for now that it was next door to a gaping hole — it wasn’t financially feasible.

So for four years, he’s been toughing it out, increasing his advertising budget and periodically checking in with the city.

“Just to remind them that we’re still here,” he said. “And that we’d like our road back.”