US 501/US 221 INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

THE CHALLENGE

In the spring of 2025, the City of Lynchburg, Virginia was excited to announce the rejuvenation of its project to improve the intersection of US 501 (Lynchburg Expressway) and US 221 (Lakeside Drive), along with their selection of McCormick Taylor, Inc. to lead this high-profile highway improvement project that will result in the significant reduction of current traffic congestion, enhanced public safety,  and the accommodation of future traffic growth due to ongoing development in the surrounding areas.

The intersection of US 501/US 221 in Lynchburg is recognized as one of the busiest within the city with thousands of vehicles moving through it on a daily basis. The City selected McCormick Taylor for their expertise in civil and transportation engineering design, environmental, planning, and public engagement services.

The restart of this important project specifically called for a more robust effort to keep the public engaged, informed and supportive of the project. To focus on the City’s specific goals for its public engagement effort, McCormick Taylor’s public engagement strategy was among the first tasks to be undertaken following the issuance of Notice to Proceed.

HOW WE HELPED

McCormick Taylor’s team of public engagement specialists offered relevant and proven public outreach strategies tailored to meet the specific needs of the project and the objectives of the client. To demonstrate the client’s desire to underscore the importance of the community’s support of and engagement in the project early on, McCormick Taylor’s first steps included an audit of existing project websites (Virginia DOT and the City of Lynchburg) to remove dated content and provide updates of pertinent project information. The updated sites will point to McCormick Taylor’s newly created project-specific website that will serve as the primary repository for all project information for the project from the design phase through the project’s physical construction.

Another resource intended to facilitate an ongoing dialogue between the community, the City and its project team was a toll-free hotline available for use 24/7 and maintained by the project team with a commitment to a 24-business hour timeframe for responses to inquiries. 

Pop-up events, public information meetings, and project updates at key milestones will also be provided over the life of the project to inform, engage, and encourage an ongoing dialogue with community members.

The outreach initiative also included a new brand for the project which was important since the City wanted to distinguish the restart of this project from the work previously done and halted by the City due to their dissatisfaction with direction of the work.

RESULTS

While this project is just getting underway, the proposed project schedule at this time is to complete final engineering plans by early spring 2028; advertise for construction in the summer of 2028 with construction to get underway at the end of 2028 with completion mid-year in 2031.