Frequently Asked Questions

Born out of the Richmond 300 Master Plan’s vision for new infrastructure to reconnect Jackson Ward, the Reconnect Jackson Ward Feasibility Study seeks to engage the community to evaluate and develop viable options for new transportation connections and public spaces in Jackson Ward and the surrounding neighborhoods. The intention of the feasibility study is to 1) establish a community vision for reconnection, 2) develop options for reconnection, 3) refine preferred options, and 4) position the city and state to apply for federal funding to implement the project.

The study is a six-month assessment of potential design and infrastructure options that will better connect Jackson Ward, a predominantly African American neighborhood in the City of Richmond, that has been physically and economically separated by interstates 95 and 64 since the 1950s. It kicked off in January 2022 and is expected to finish by July 2022.

No, this is not construction. This is a Feasibility Study whose sole purpose is to present viable options for improving access between Jackson Ward’s north and south neighborhoods, which currently are divided by I-95. The goal of the process is to identify feasible options for a connection across the highway with public input. The study is intended to position the City of Richmond to apply for future funding opportunities, primarily the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which is expected to provide $1 billion in planning and capital construction grants to be distributed nationwide over a five-year period. Other funding opportunities also will be identified through this effort.

The Reconnect Jackson Ward Feasibility Study was identified in the city’s Richmond 300 master plan, adopted in 2020 as a guide for growth by 2037. The plan calls for identifying what a reconnection would look like and exactly where it could be feasible as part of this feasibility study. One of the Big Moves in the master plan is putting a connection over the highway to reknit neighborhoods destroyed by interstates, building or improving bridges, introducing street grids and making the city easier to access by foot, bike and transit. More specifically, the master plan calls for a “Highway Deck Study: Commence a planning study to analyze the feasibility of building a park, roads, and buildings over I-95 and I-64, reconnecting Jackson Ward and North Jackson Ward” (Goal 8, Goal 9, Goal 17).

The study will further the city’s vision to uphold Jackson Ward’s historic legacy and support the community’s culture and economic vitality. At the heart of the vision for the Reconnect Jackson Ward Feasibility Study are the ideals of inclusion, unification, and access for everyone, while keeping black history alive.

January 2022 and is expected to finish by July 2022. The goal is to have a vision and general location and important components of a potential future connection identified and then to apply for funding which will allow the project to advance.

The Virginia Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI), in coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the City of Richmond, is undertaking this feasibility study, with input from the public through extensive community outreach and consultant support with the engineering, design and community engagement.

Richmond 300, the city’s recently approved master plan, called for efforts to Reconnect Jackson Ward. What this reconnection will look like, and exactly where it will be, is a part of this feasibility study to see exactly what is feasible and where. One of the Big Moves in the master plan was to cap highways to reknit neighborhoods destroyed by interstates, build/ improve bridges, introduce street grids, and make the city easier to access by foot, bike, and transit.

We are engaging with members of the Jackson Ward community to solicit their feedback on what they want – and don’t want – in a future connection. We plan to engage existing residents and businesses; descendants of families who were displaced by the interstate construction in the 1950s; elected officials; and others.

The process includes has numerous opportunities for public interaction, including 3 public meetings, pop-up events in Jackson Ward and Gilpin Court where we set up a table in the community and solicit feedback, small group design sessions, one-on-one interviews with key members of the Jackson Ward community and several surveys.

Community ambassadors have been hired to engage residents within the community and spread the word about the project, events and ways to engage.

We’ll use this community feedback to assess options. We will produce a final report with cost estimates, recommendations, preliminary plans and environmental considerations. The report also will identify grant and funding opportunities for Jackson Ward and will equip the City with all material needed to make successful applications for grants and funding.

A Steering Committee was created to be representative of the community and help support the study process. This includes residents, business owners and community leaders from Jackson Ward, Carver and Gilpin Court who have been actively engaged in various planning projects. These are individuals that live and/or work in Jackson Ward and the surrounding neighborhoods.

We have had grassroots or “pop up” events targeting the community using community ambassadors rather than the planning team. This has included showing up in the Jackson Ward community and engaging passerby’s to inform them of the process and gain their input.

We will host small group design sessions or focus groups in May so that we can talk directly to community members and get their input on the design of the project. Adjacent property owners, businesses and residents have been targeted for those small group sessions.

The following survey and first meeting summaries outlined the general demographics of people that have been engaged thus far.

The following strategies have been utilized: door hangers, flyers, e-blasts, social media, pop up events, focus groups, website, surveys and public meetings. The Steering Committee is a group of community leaders that have been key advisors in the process. Community ambassadors have been engaged to help spread the word as well. The Richmond 300 mailing list, which includes over 4,000 residents that were involved in the master planning process, has also been utilized to get the word out about the project and events.

The intent of the study is to identify a viable, actionable solution for better connecting the north and south portions of Jackson Ward, which will enable Jackson Ward to be better connected both physically and economically, as well as more diverse and inclusive.

The study also is intended to position the City of Richmond to apply for future funding opportunities, primarily the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which is expected to provide $1 billion in planning and capital construction grants to be distributed nationwide over a five-year period. Other funding opportunities also will be identified through this effort.

The Reconnect Jackson Ward Feasibility Study is one of many projects that are currently being planned in and around Jackson Ward. Other projects that are currently in the planning phase but not connected to this study include the Jackson Ward Community Plan (which will create a redevelopment vision and plan for the entire Jackson Ward neighborhood), Belvidere Street Interchange Realignment, Belvidere Street Interchange Safety Improvements, 1st Street Bridge Rehabilitation, Fall Line Trail, and North-South Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Plan and Options.

As a part of the Jackson Ward Community Plan, a process taking place in the next 18-months, which will look at the entire area, the City will provide recommendations on how to curb potential gentrification and displacement in this area. This will require understanding existing housing prices and trends in the area and exploring policy initiatives to preserve affordable housing, public/private partnerships to preserve, support and incubate Black owned businesses as well as collaborations to continue to highlight and celebrate Black history and culture in the Jackson Ward community.

Learn more at JacksonWardChoice.com

This process is to help identify where a connection could be built. Depending on the concept development and recommendations, traffic impacts could be considered as part of the selection process for a reconnection and would be evaluated as more detailed engineering and design advances.

The study is currently evaluating the feasibility of a reconnection over the existing highway, utilizing public right of way. to provide a public space for the community. As more detailed engineering and design advances, specific impacts to adjacent properties, if any, would be identified and evaluated in detail.

The project team realizes that the building of the highway in the 1950’s was not just about infrastructure, but the destruction of Black communities that resulted in displacement and taking of Black property, negatively impacting businesses, community fabric and generational wealth. While this connection is slated to be an infrastructure project supported by government funds, and will not compensate for the wrongdoings of past, we do want to make sure Black history, culture and arts are celebrated and supported through this project.

Our current master plan, Richmond 300 identifies the reconnection of the City as one of the Big Six Moves, Richmond 300 page 183. The six Big Moves of the Richmond 300 intentionally seek to expand equity, increase the sustainability of our city, and beautify our city. As we keep equity as a guiding principle, we can learn to be humble in the face of new concerns, different ideas, and perspectives that are unfamiliar.

The Reconnect Jackson Ward Feasibility Study is a process to explore what infrastructure improvements are possible and where, working in close coordination with the community. Additionally, the study is intended to position the City of Richmond to apply for future funding opportunities to implement the recommended infrastructure improvements. One such opportunity is Section 11509 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which requires that funding grantees for capital construction funds have enacted anti-displacement policies to keep vulnerable residents in place.

Through this study, we are also committed learning from other cities from around the U.S. Relying on research and nationwide best practices, the Jackson Ward Feasibility Study will include recommendations for possible policies to consider, such as tax abatements for property owners, rent control and first-time homebuyer programs for tenants, and community land trusts to steer new development. The Jackson Ward Community Plan will address issues of housing and economic development and further explore larger policies to protect against it in this area.

Jackson Ward is in the City of Richmond in proximity to downtown Richmond.

Jackson Ward is one of Richmond’s most historic neighborhoods. Its roots trace back to the late 1700s and early 1800s when land was annexed from Henrico County and was settled by German and Jewish immigrants, and later freed slaves. In 1871, it became the city’s sixth voting ward. By the turn of the 20th Century, Jackson Ward was one of the most vibrant Black cultural and business communities in the United States. It was known as the “Harlem of the South.”

In the 1950s, Jackson Ward experienced unprecedented changes. The Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (today Interstates 95 and 64), was completed in 1958 and cut through the heart of Jackson Ward, dislocating thousands of people and demolishing homes. The highway construction created a physical separation between the northern and southern portions of Jackson Ward. This significant event influenced an exodus of longtime residents and businesses and has contributed to other economic and social disparities between the south and north portions of Jackson Ward, including Gilpin Court.

To learn more about Jackson Ward’s past and present, visit these important links. 

VCU Libraries, Jackson Ward Historic District 

The Valentine, Jackson Ward Mural Tour  

Richmond City Center Plan – 2021  

Richmond 300 Master Plan