Route 58 Improvements
Lee County, VA
Route 58, the major east-west highway across southern Virginia, is designated for widening as part of a statewide improvement program funded through special legislation intended to stimulate economic development. The original two-lane highway is being upgraded to a four-lane controlled access facility. HSMM developed plans for 4.4 miles on new location to bypass the community of Rose Hill in Lee County. The work was performed under contract with the Virginia Department of Transportation and included:
- Geotechnical analysis and subsurface drilling plan
- Complete plan, profile, cross sections, and details
- Design of culverts, storm sewers, and stormwater management facilities
- Erosion and sediment control features, and
- Public hearings to present the design to the local community.
A particular challenge was the development of alternative designs to avoid impacts to a small cave beneath the proposed alignment - discovered late in the design process and found to contain human bone fragments. HSMM designed a cost saving alignment shift that allowed the project to move ahead to completion at a construction cost of $7.5 million.
