By Carleigh Griffeth
There are more than 10 construction projects going on in Lynchburg now spanning across the city. It seems you can’t take a drive across town without seeing construction or hearing a jackhammer.
Director of Public Works Dave Owen says the city is undergoing a major transformation.
The reason for all the construction? We live in a historic city.
“Eventually it gets old. It gets physically worn out and gets functionally obsolete. And that’s the case with our sewers,” said James Talian, water quality manager.
“Certainly our infrastructure is aging, and if you do not spend the necessary maintenance and small repairs, you end up having to rebuild or refurbish. And that is much more expensive,” said Owen.
Money to pay for all the construction could be federal, state or local money. It depends on the project.
“Small projects such as replacing decks or redoing decks on bridges, typically that’s local maintenance money,” said Owen.
Even though the construction sites are an inconvenience, the city is trying to keep your commutes as hassle-free as possible.
“Whenever other things are done like the 5th Street project or the midtown connector, we always try to go in and do the water and sewer work at the same time, so that we don’t have to disrupt the community more than once,” said Talian.
And when you see construction anywhere, the are some good news.
“Once the project is over, hopefully we will not have to go over those for 10, 15, 20 years,” said Owen.
The bad news is you’ll always see construction somewhere.
“You never finish building a city. It goes on forever,” said Talian.
If you’d like updates on any constructions projects you can go to the City of Lynchburg’s website.