Henrico breaks ground on two infrastructure projects

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - Henrico County officials will break ground at 10 a.m. Wednesday on two infrastructure projects: the widening of Richmond-Henrico Turnpike and construction of the Eastern Henrico Transmission Line.

Turnpike widening

Crews will begin work to widen Richmond-Henrico Turnpike between East Laburnum Avenue and Hummingbird Road. The road currently has two lanes. It will have four lanes once the work is complete.

Transmission line

The first section of the transmission line will be built as part of the turnpike widening project. Henrico’s departments of Public Works and Public Utilities coordinated efforts to allow for that.

The Eastern Henrico Transmission Line will include about 13 miles of new, 42-inch water main. The line will allow the county’s Water Treatment Facility to serve central and eastern Henrico if needed.

Those areas currently rely primarily on Richmond’s Water Treatment Plant. A shutdown of that plant in January 2025 left thousands of county customers without water service for several days. Henrico officials fast-tracked the transmission line project after the shutdown. The new line will work to prevent a repeat.

Cost and timeline

Together, the two projects will cost about $30 million. The entire project is set to be completed in about two years.

The event is set for 810 E. Laburnum Ave. Board of Supervisors Chair and Fairfield District Supervisor Roscoe D. Cooper III, Varina District Supervisor Tyrone E. Nelson and other county officials are scheduled to take part.