VDOT to Hold Route 220 Southern Connector Public Hearing Thursday in Ridgeway

RIDGEWAY – On Thursday, March 26, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will hold a public hearing for the Martinsville Southern Connector Study Route 220 Environmental Impact Statement. The hearing will be held at Drewry Mason Elementary School, located at 45 Drewry Mason School Road in Ridgeway. 

In February 2018, VDOT, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), initiated the Martinsville Southern Connector Study, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates potential improvements to the Route 220 corridor in Henry County between the Route 58/Route 220 Bypass and the North Carolina state line. 

VDOT will hold the public hearing to solicit input on its Draft EIS, which documents the purpose and need, range of alternatives and an analysis of the impacts of each alternative on a host of social and environmental resources.

The Draft EIS also identifies the preferred alternative to be analyzed in a Final EIS. The Draft EIS is scheduled to be made available for public review and comment on March 6, 2020. The hearing will be in open-house format and provide an opportunity for the public to discuss the study with VDOT representatives.

The hearing will include a video presentation that will run throughout the evening. 

Comments may be submitted at the hearing, on the study website at www.virginiadot.org/martinsvilleconnector, by e-mail to [email protected], by texting ROUTE220 to 77948 to receive the survey link, or by mail to Angel Aymond, Project Manager, Virginia Department of Transportation, 1401 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219. Comments will be accepted through April 20, 2020. Anyone requiring special assistance to attend and participate in this hearing may contact VDOT’s Salem District Office at 540-387-5353, 800-367-7623 or TTY/TDD 711.