Thank you for helping to make Word on the Street a valuable resource for the community! We’ve compiled this FAQ to address many of the questions and issues that were highlighted in our feedback survey in March. This page will be updated periodically as additional questions arise.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
Why isn’t there more community engagement information about the projects listed on Word on the Street?
The community engagement phase of any project occurs at the very beginning when a project is first proposed.
On a basic level, all projects go through multiple phases. The project area is studied by our engineers, who then come up with a proposed solution based on the data. We then invite public input and community engagement at public meetings and online surveys. That feedback is then taken into consideration for the design phase of the project. Any projects listed in “Starting Soon” or “Currently in Construction” are in the last phases of the project timeline.
The News section will always contain any upcoming public meetings or surveys for community engagement on proposed projects.
I’ve been looking for information on zoning or the locations of traffic incidents.
Word on the Street focuses on Public Works and Public Utilities infrastructure and covers active projects that are either about to start or currently in construction in each magisterial district. This is limited to projects from Public Works and Public Utilities.
The Department of Planning handles land-use regulations and zoning questions. Planning hosts public meetings that can be attended in person or remotely. You can view the next scheduled meeting for each and the agenda on their webpage. This information is also available on the Henrico County event calendar.
As for locations of traffic incidents, this is not something Henrico County independently tracks. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles collects and maintains this information at the state level. You can view their map, which allows users to filter by jurisdiction, year and type of crash.
If a traffic incident is causing a closure on a major road in Henrico, that closure is typically maintained by the Henrico County Police Division. We recommend following them on social media, as they try to post when such an incident may be impacting commuter traffic.
Why aren’t there updates throughout construction, or updates on why a project is delayed?
This is something we are actively working on! General information on project timelines and common reasons for project delays will be available on the Public Works website and posted to social media soon. We also plan to share updates on WOTS and project webpages by including photos of construction, when possible.
Several respondents asked about delays of the Three Chopt Road Improvements project. This project is still in the utility relocation phase, which means all utility companies and departments with service lines in the project area must come move their lines before construction can begin. This can include water, electrical, cable and phone lines. Each company must come separately as they can’t safely work at the same time. Hurricane Helene in 2024 affected this project, as companies that needed to relocate utilities pulled resources to restore services in western Virginia and North Carolina that had been impacted by the storm. Other weather events, such as snow, can also hold up this process. As of April, one company still needed to relocate its utility lines in the project area. Once that’s done, Public Works can begin the bid process for a contractor.
I’d like to see more volunteer opportunities on Word on the Street!
Whenever we are aware of an upcoming a volunteer opportunity related to Public Works or Public Utilities, that information will be in the news section! Volunteer opportunities are more common in the summer months, so keep an eye out.
Many of these opportunities come from our friends at Keep Henrico Beautiful and Henrico’s Environmental Action Resource Team. We also recommend keeping up with them on their website and social media.
Why isn’t the information on Word on the Street always accurate?
Word on the Street provides project details and expected timeline at the time of publication. Project timelines can change for various reasons including weather and contractor availability.
We started this newsletter in an effort to be as transparent as possible about projects in Henrico County. However, because the start times of projects depend on many outside factors, none of these timelines are guaranteed. If you’re curious about a specific project or timeline, feel free to reach out to us anytime.