Those traveling along Main Street in Gloucester may have noticed some recent construction work going on along the sidewalks.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has been retrofitting various entrances to the sidewalks in order to make the walkways compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act standards. This comes just ahead of asphalt paving along Main Street that will occur in the coming weeks.

According to VDOT spokesperson Kelly Hannon, the federal ADA standards for sidewalk ramps call for “truncated dome” material, also known as warning surfaces, to be installed on the ramps. “These are tiles containing raised domes and are the uniform standard for ADA compliance,” she said. “The tiles help visually-impaired pedestrians identify the boundary between the sidewalk and street and generally to orient themselves to the direction of travel.”

To maintain the visual aesthetics of the Gloucester Court House Main Street improvements, Hannon said...