GRTC is planning the future of high-capacity transit in the Richmond Region. Building off of the success of the Pulse’s Broad Street BRT route, GRTC is studying potential alignments for a second BRT line running from north to south and connecting to the Broad Street line in Downtown Richmond. GRTC is coordinating with the City of Richmond, Henrico County, and Chesterfield County to determine a route that optimizes regional ridership, accessibility, and equity. This project focuses on getting to an alignment that makes sense as a first step in growing Richmond’s BRT network.
The study area includes US 1 between Virginia Center Commons and Chester, US 60 from Downtown Richmond to Westchester Commons, and US 360 from Downtown Richmond to Commonwealth Center Parkway. GRTC will be looking at how this north-south route will cross the James River, using either the Route 1 Bridge, the Manchester Bridge, or the Mayo Bridge. The ultimate recommendation at the end of this stage of the planning process will be a potential north-south BRT alignment along some combination of the corridors being studied. This decision on where to start first will help us as we move forward with funding and design of the potential route.
This step of the planning process is just the first in a series of steps before actual construction of the project. Once an alternative has been selected, GRTC will next go through the environmental review process and development of cost and ridership estimates. At each step in the process there will be outreach to the public and stakeholders.