LYNCHBURG, Va. – The final phase of the Fifth Street Utility & Streetscape Project will begin in October 2025, continuing a transformative effort that started in 2009. This phase will cover Fifth Street from the eastern end of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge to Taylor Street.
The project includes replacing the century-old water main beneath Fifth Street and rehabilitating the existing sanitary sewer through internal lining. Key improvements to the stormwater system will also be implemented.
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Additionally, this phase will feature a complete repaving of the street, installation of wider sidewalks, new sidewalk ramps, curbs, bus stops, a retaining wall, new light poles, and landscaping to match the already improved sections of Fifth Street.
Jamerson-Lewis Construction Inc. has been awarded the construction contract, with engineering firm Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP serving as the design consultant.
When construction begins, Fifth Street from Taylor Street to the MLK Jr. Memorial Bridge will be restricted to one-way westbound traffic heading out of downtown. Eastbound motorists will be detoured onto Langhorne Road to Park Avenue and back to Fifth Street to bypass the work area.
Construction is expected to take 15 months, with completion anticipated in December 2026.
For more information and updates on construction and traffic impacts, visit www.lynchburgva.gov/971/Fifth-Street-Improvements.