The Mathews Main Street Committee got an update on Phase 2 of the Main Street Enhancement Project last Thursday from committee chair Bette Dillehay and senior landscape architect Ricky Wiatt of the design and engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin.
During the presentation, which was held at Mathews Memorial Library, Dillehay said the plans created for Phase 2 “fit the vision we’ve had for quite some time.” She said that vision includes “vibrant business and social activities” in an area with historical significance that has become “a center for business, a center for art.”
She harked back to 1994, when the now-defunct Mathews Chamber of Commerce first came up with the idea of creating a more welcoming Main Street.
She said the project looked at traffic patterns, pedestrian patterns, streetscaping and drainage issues, and it was decided that there should be two phases, each beginning at the Food Lion. The first phase improved the south part of Main Street, from the Food Lion to the Kingston Parish Rectory, while the second part will improve the north part, from the Food Lion to Hyco Corner.
The Main Street Committee took on the responsibility of raising the matching funds for the upfront costs for design and engineering, said Dillehay, and has to date raised nearly $60,000 to support the project.
Wiatt said VHB senior planner Chris DeWitt helped obtain first grant for Main Street from the Virginia Department of Transportation, while Wiatt joined the project in 2016. He said he worked with Howard Brothers, the contractor for the project, to change some things that didn’t work and still came out under budget on the project, with funding left over to do some extra small projects to benefit the businesses on Main Street. The extra money also paid for removal of in-ground fuel tanks that were discovered during construction, he said, and for replacing all the asphalt in the project area instead of just patching up the areas that were disturbed.
Because Mathews is so low, said Wiatt, various accommodations had to be made for the high-water table, including using special elliptical pipes because there wasn’t much clearance between the water and the ground. Before the project, there were no pipes underground, he said, and now the system of pipes creates a place for water to drain off the roads and sit below-ground until it can drain away. This will continue with Phase 2, he said, with storm pipes planned for both sides of the road because “the number one thing is to keep flooding from happening.”
Among the details Wiatt went over in the plan were 26-foot pedestrian crossings, rather than the original 60 feet; taking the dip out of the entrance into Food Lion; placing a crosswalk in front of the new preschool at Westville Baptist Church; and placing light fixtures the length of the street. Much of the landscaping will consist of turf because plantings are more costly to maintain, he said, but some new trees will be placed along the street.
The light pole at the entrance to Food Lion that’s a problem for drivers can’t be moved because of the expense, he said, so the entry will be bumped out to go beyond it.
All properties that will be affected by the project are entitled to payment, said Wiatt. If property owners choose not to take the money, it will be transferred to construction costs. He said an additional six inches is needed for the sidewalk on one side of the road, and he hopes the owners will allow an easement for that. Sidewalks in front of businesses will be replaced, he said.
Large trucks will still be able to navigate turns on Main Street in the same way they currently do, said Wiatt, and the only utility that will need relocating is an HRSD sewer vacuum at Hardee’s at Hyco Corner.
Wiatt projected that construction will begin about a year from now.