Downtown Tunnel Repairs | City of Staunton

What's Happening Now?

June Project Update: Byers Street Ahead of Schedule

New Street Tunnel work began June 29

Due to favorable spring weather, the Byers Street portion of the Downtown Tunnel Repairs project is moving ahead of schedule.

While crews wait for off-site concrete structures to cure for the Byers Street tunnel, they will begin working on the New Street Tunnel. This allows the contractor to maximize good weather and keep the overall project on track.

Byers Street is on track for completion in mid August.

Project Overview

The City of Staunton is undertaking a critical infrastructure project to repair the aging stormwater tunnels beneath Byers Street, West Johnson Street, and New Street. Addressing these conditions now is essential to prevent structural failure and ensure public safety in the Wharf District.

Duration: February 2026 – Spring 2027
Investment: $4.62 Million
Goal: Restore structural integrity of tunnels supporting roadways while maintaining downtown access.
Method: "Top-down" construction to to remove and replace tunnel roofs and walls
Three priority locations under roadways:
- Tunnel beneath Byers Street
- Tunnel beneath New Street
- Tunnel beneath West Johnson Street

Overall Map of Work Areas for the downtown tunnels. Purple highlights are on West Johnson and Byers Street and a blue highlight is on New Street where repairs will be performed.

Byers Street (Currently Underway)

Timeline: Through August 2026

Status: Preparation for precast tunnel sections.

The concrete foundations and stem walls have been completed. The fabrication and curing of the precast sections are being completed off-site, with delivery anticipated for mid-July.

What to Expect:

Traffic: Byers Street is closed at Johnson Street. Byers Street has been closed to through traffic since March 2025. This portion of the project won't change overall traffic flow.
Parking: The eastern portion of the Wharf Parking Lot will remain closed through part of construction. The western side will remain open.

Business Access: All businesses remain open. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

The Work: Crews are using a "top-down" approach to replace tunnel walls and roofs with reinforced concrete. Some utilities will be relocated as part of the project.

More Detail:

Late February: Initial demolition and tunnel roof removal begins
March – April: Relocation of sewer lines
April – June: Wall removal, excavation for footers, concrete pouring
July – August: Installation of precast tunnel sections

Post Construction:

Street will re-open to through traffic
Steel tube railing along street over creek will be replaced with Essex green bridge guardrail (similar to Mill St); ornamental fence above creek banks
Additional manhole access to sanitary sewer
Lower section of eastern side of Wharf will still be closed. There are still weak sections under a portion of the parking lot itself.

New Street (Start June 2026)

Timeline: June 29, 2026 and completed in the fall 2026.

Status: Scheduled

Parking Impacts: The western half of the RMA Parking Lot will be closed for construction staging. On-street parking on S New Street will be temporarily available. Combined, up to 31 parking spaces will be out of service.

There are spaces now public spaces available in the "Courthouse Lot." This was leased to Augusta County for Court employees until they recently moved to their new location in Verona. Navigate to this lot.

Traffic Changes:New Street to remain open to traffic during construction. The traffic will be shifted to the right side of the road.

The Work: New Street repairs may appear less dramatic, as it involves replacement of only the downstream-most segment of the bridge deck / tunnel ceiling, and does not require replacement of the tunnel walls.

Post Construction: New Street will reopen to traffic as usual and parking will return to normal.

West Johnson Street (Projected 2026-2027)

Timeline:

Preliminary Prep Work: Tree removal in coming weeks (June / July 2026)
Full Construction Begins: August 2026 (following the opening of Byers Street)
Expected Completion: Spring 2027

Status: Tree removal to prep the site will happen while Byers Street work is finishing up. Full mobilization and excavation will not begin until Byers Street has reopened.

Traffic Changes:

Central Avenue will remain open to vehicular traffic
The section of Johnson Street between Central Avenue and Augusta Street will become one-way eastbound
Johnson Street will close to through traffic near the Police Entrance to the Johnson Street Garage.
- Westbound will stop at Augusta Street
- Eastbound will stop at the entrance to the Johnson Street Garage
Byers Street will reopen one-way (eastbound) and serve as part of the detour.
Westbound detour will head north on Augusta, west on Frederick, and south on Lewis to meet up with Johnson.
The truck detour will utilize Hampton Street or Churchville Avenue.

Parking Impact:

Short-Term Prep Work: Nine (9) parking spaces in the western Wharf Lot along Johnson Street will be temporarily blocked for a couple of days to allow for tree removal.
During Construction: The contractor will use approximately 41 spaces in the northern section of the western Wharf lot for a laydown and staging site, and 4 spaces will be repurposed for traffic flow.
Net Gain in Parking: Despite these closures, overall parking capacity will increase. Because the eastern Wharf lot and Byers Street will reopen prior to this work, the total available parking spaces will jump from 115 (current) to 147.
The two halves of the parking Wharf lot will be connected, however you may only enter from off of Lewis Street (due to Byers Street being one way).
Parking in the Wharf Lots and the Johnson Street Garage will continue to be free.

Pedestrian Access: Pedestrian access to the Wharf will be securely maintained.

The contractor will place barriers to protect foot traffic along Central Avenue at the Johnson Street intersection.
While large pump-around equipment will be set up near the parking garage, the City and contractor are finalizing a plan to ensure safe, continuous pedestrian access between the Wharf, the Johnson Street Garage, Beverley Street, City Hall, and the Police Department.
Some form of pedestrian access will be made on the western side of the work zone, allowing access from Johnson Street into the Wharf parking lot.

The Work

This is a complex repair site involving major utility work before the tunnel can be replaced. The sequence of work includes:

Removing four trees on the west side of the Whar along Johnson Street to allow for overhead utility line relocation
Establishing traffic control and construction fencing
Excavating Johnson Street to relocate two gas lines, two sewer mains, and one water main
Excavating the existing tunnel structure and removing significant amount of debris accumulated at a tunnel bottleneck
Pouring tunnel wall footers, constructing concrete stem walls and placing in precast upper sections into place
Reconnecting storm drains

Post Construction: Once the tunnel is structurally complete, the contractor will execute a full surface restoration. This includes repaving the roadway and pouring new sidewalks. The four trees removed at the start of the project will be replaced with new, younger trees.

Project Background

August 2020: Severe flooding in the Wharf district prompts flood mitigation studies
May 2021: Staff present the findings from hydrologic and hydraulic studies with Wiley|Wilson
- Most of the potential solutions presented were determined to not be feasible (removing historic buildings, adding additional tunnels, creating flood control ponds, etc.)
August 2021: Staff returned to Council with more feasible recommendations related to tunnel maintenance and improvements.
September 2024: The city contracted with Wiley|Wilson for a tunnel maintenance study which included a survey and structural evaluation
March 2025: Engineers discovered areas of concern with the structural integrity of the tunnels in several areas, especially around the Wharf.
- Engineers recommended that the city limit traffic above those sections of the tunnel.
Spring/Summer 2025: The city works with engineers to develop repair plans for the areas of concern in tunnels under roadways
October: 2025: The tunnel repair project for sections under Byers Street, Johnson Street, and New Street is put out to bid.

FAQs

Why are repairs focused only on roadways?

The current project focuses specifically on tunnel sections under active roadways (Byers, West Johnson, and New Streets). These repairs are essential to reopen streets for daily travel. Fixing these sections will restore normal downtown traffic patterns. By prioritizing roadways, the city avoids spending taxpayer funds on parking lot tunnels that could be changed in a future project.

What about daylighting the creek or other improvements to the Wharf Parking Lot?

The structural evaluation did find areas of concern under the Wharf Parking Lot. Those areas have been closed to vehicles since March 2025. Any future work in the Wharf Parking Lot (including alternatives such as daylighting) will be evaluated and planned separately through a long-term process with extensive public engagement. The parking lot tunnels are currently being evaluated as part of a daylighting feasibility study, which explores the potential removal of tunnel roofs to restore the creek as an open-air feature.

Will Wharf businesses remain open?

Yes. The city is working diligently to improve wayfinding signage for detours and parking and keep pedestrian access open through all phases of construction.

How will parking change during construction?

Each construction phase will reduce available parking. The city will work to keep as much parking open as possible and help identify alternative options. The city will communicate available options and changes clearly before each phase begins.

Phase 1	Phase 2	Phase 3
Byers Street	Johnson Street	New Street
The eastern part of the Wharf lot will close. When the Byers Street repairs are complete, the portion of that surface lot that is currently available (prior to construction) will reopen, as will Byers Street.	The portion of the western part of the Wharf lot closest to Johnson Street will be closed to parking, but spaces within the lot nearer to Byers Street will remain available.	A portion of the RMA lot – the area closest to New Street – will be closed.

How will traffic be detoured?

Detailed detour plans will accommodate all directions of travel and ensure access to parking near closure areas. The city will coordinate with BRITE transit, first responders, and mapping applications like Google Maps and Waze to keep route information current.

What makes this project so challenging?

This is a complex project requiring a "top-down" approach, working through the road surface. This involves:

Relocating gas, water, sewer, and electric utilities.
Replacing tunnel walls/roofs with reinforced concrete.
Obtaining strict environmental permits for waterway work.

Parking

Tunnel Repairs Progress

Updated on 06/18/2026 4:18 PM

This album shows the progress of the Downtown Tunnel Repairs Project

Creek Tunnel Assessment Photos

Updated on 09/19/2025 12:26 PM

Photos of creek tunnels from structural survey showing deficiencies

Looking Ahead: Long-term Creek Considerations

These tunnel repairs are separate from any future consideration of "daylighting" the creeks, opening the tunnels and exposing them to the surface. The city has allocated funding to study the feasibility of daylighting portions of the Wharf area, which would involve looking at different engineering approaches and costs.

The current repairs focus on immediate structural safety needs and restoring full street functionality. Any future creek daylighting decisions would be made separately and would include extensive community input.