Blasting in Gainesville area for new park and ride lot construction

Gainesville area residents will hear booming and might feel the ground shake a bit as blasting begins at the University Boulevard Park and Ride Lot project, which is currently under construction.

The company building the lot has found rock that needs to be removed so that construction can continue. The new lot is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which aims to provide multimodal options along the Interstate 66 corridor. The lot is located at the intersection of University Boulevard and U.S. 29.

Other than hearing, and maybe feeling the blasts, which were scheduled to begin Friday and will continue this week, residents won’t be affected by the blasting, said the county’s Transportation Planning and Programming Division Chief Elizabeth Scullin.

The blasting is 300 feet away from any existing roads, so road closures won’t be necessary. However, future road closings may occur as work progresses and comes closer to existing roads, Scullin said.

A VDOT representative will be coordinating with the county’s Fire and Rescue and Police Departments throughout the operation.

For more information about the project or the blasting, call VDOT at 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367- 7623) or email transform66@vdot. virginia.gov.