John W. Warner Parkway? Idea has supporters

As the Meadowcreek Parkway moves from being a decades-old planning concept into an actual road, some in the area are not wasting time in considering its official name.

Former Albe-marle Supervisor Forrest Marshall will soon implore Charlottesville and Albemarle officials to rename the 2-mile parkway after U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Alexandria, who Marshall said was integral in securing the project’s final funding. The proposed name comes on the heels of Warner’s retirement from Congress after having served five terms.

“It’s time we paid him back,” said Marshall, who was a member of the county Board of Supervisors until 2000. He added, “This is the best way I know how to do it.”

Last month the Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded Charlottesville-based Faulconer Construction Co. the contract to build the county’s 1.4-mile portion of the parkway, which will begin at East Rio Road and end at Melbourne Road in Charlottesville, at the edge of McIntire Park. The bid for the section came in at $11.8 million, which county officials said was a smaller figure than they had expected.

When local officials were attempting to move forward with the parkway project, one of many roadblocks it hit involved funding for its terminus — a diamond-shaped, above-grade interchange that will connect the parkway with the U.S. 250 Bypass.

“We couldn’t get it,” Marshall said. “It just wasn’t there.”

Marshall said that one month after meeting with the senator about the predicament, Warner secured $27 million in federal funds so the interchange could be completed.

“[The parkway] wouldn’t exist had he not given us $27 million for the interchange at the bypass,” Marshall said.

Bridges and highways in Virginia can be named by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, often done after a local jurisdiction identifies a preference, or by General Assembly action. While the transportation board can name a bridge or a highway to reflect the historical or geographical significance of its location or for a deceased person, the state legislature would be required to enact a law naming the parkway after Warner because he is still living.

County board Chairman Kenneth C. Boyd said Marshall has lobbied to name the parkway after Warner before — shortly after the interchange funding was secured — but the project was not nearly as concrete as it has become in recent months.

“We felt it was premature at that time,” Boyd said. Additionally, Boyd said the senator was opposed to naming the road after him when he was still in office.

Apart from funding the Meadowcreek Parkway, Marshall said Warner has done an “immeasurable amount” for the Charlottesville area, including securing an abandoned federal government building for the city and keeping the National Ground Intelligence Center in Albemarle County.

Many area officials are on board with the idea, including Boyd and Albemarle Supervisor David L. Slutzky, who said that although he had not given the road name much thought, he thought naming the thoroughfare after Warner sounded “reasonable and appropriate.”

“He’s done a lot for this community,” Slutzky said.

Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said he would not be opposed to naming the entire parkway after the retiring senator, but he said, “To me, it’s [still] whether or not we should have a parkway.” Norris, along with fellow City Council member Holly Edwards, has been an opponent of the project.

Advertisements to construct the city’s portion, which will run through McIntire Park and connect with the U.S. 250 Bypass, will begin next month, as will construction of the county’s segment.