Tuckahoe Creek Parkway east of VA-288 finally has a reason to be open to traffic.
The parkway, a 4-lane limited access highway, was built as part of the VA-288 project and was completed in 2004. The parkway west of VA-288 is well used and accesses the Capital One complex and other businesses, but the parkway east of VA-288 had no reason to be open to traffic because the only property served by a field entrance was an undeveloped property at the end of the parkway. I don't know why the segment was opened to traffic in 2004; seems like the usual procedure would be to keep it closed until there is a reason to open it to traffic.
This new establishment has a paved road access to near the east end of the parkway --
West Creek Emergency Center
http://henricodoctors.com/service/west-creek-emergency-center
Opening May 1, 2012 at the border between Goochland and Henrico Counties - Tuckahoe Creek Parkway East exit
-Emergency Care
-Pediatric Care
-Sick Visits
-Injury Treatment
-Outpatient Imaging and Lab/Blood Work
-Workers' Comp Visits
....
Goochland and Henrico counties say that they have no plans to connect the Tuckahoe Creek Parkway to the Ridgefield Parkway, but it is obvious on Google Maps that there is an 0.7-mile missing link between the two. Actually originally it was planned in both counties as the Ridgefield Parkway, but the Goochland section was named differently before it opened. The missing link would cross wetlands and would require a bridge of 1,500 feet or more length.
Added text Apr. 20th --
Additional east-west highway capacity is probably not needed for some years to come. VA-6 Patterson Avenue is an east-west 4-lane arterial and is about 1 1/2 mile south of Ridgefield/Tuckahoe. US-250 Broad Street is an east-west 6-lane arterial and is about 3 miles north of Ridgefield/Tuckahoe. Neither arterial experiences peak hour congestion today at the county line, and probably will not for some years to come.
I had emailed Henrico County about this several years ago and pretty much got the same response - building this section would be too costly, have significant environmental impacts on the wetlands if not done properly, and would negatively impact development on Ridgefield Parkway (which is a neighborhood street west of Lauderdale Drive). I have seen maps labeling SR 740 in Goochland County as a segment of Ridgefield Parkway as late as 2003. I agree, the traffic needs that would be addressed by building this section are adequately addressed by US 250 and VA 6 for the foreseeable future (traffic can be heavy from time to time but usually isn't...not even on US 250 eastbound heading into Short Pump).
With respect to negatively impacting development on Ridgefield Parkway, which is a neighborhood street west of Lauderdale Drive --
Ridgefield Parkway was designed as a limited access 4-lane arterial, except for the block west of Lauderdale Drive, where the right curbs were built on the 4-lane footprint, but only one lane each way was paved and there is a grass median where the future lanes would be built. The people who built homes on that block should have known about the future plans for the Ridgefield Parkway east and west of there. So they shouldn't stand in the way.
Quote from: Beltway on April 23, 2012, 09:00:58 AM
The people who built homes on that block should have known about the future plans for the Ridgefield Parkway east and west of there. So they shouldn't stand in the way.
Ever heard of Maryland's InterCounty Connector (Route 200)?
I know you have.
On the planning maps since the 1950's, but that did not stop the residents of homes built near the master-planned route (and more than a few of those homes were built by developers that were
required to contribute land to the state for the highway in order to get development approval) from yelling and screaming in opposition.
This "neighborhood street" section would not require any land acquisition, it would simply be a matter of completing the inner lanes of the parkway within the current cross-section. Trafficwise it would change from lightly used to being a 4-lane arterial, which I suppose some residents would not like.