Amherst County begins beautification process on Business 29 corridor

County will use 25,000 to plant new trees, county logos on 29

MADISON HEIGHTS, Va. – Beverly Jones has lived in Madison Heights all of her life. The chairman of the Beautification Committee for the 29 corridor said the current lot for a car wash company used to be an old gas station decades before it closed.

“It used to be the old Exxon Service station. (The) 29 corridor used to be a lot of houses. It was like a residential community,” Jones said.

Seeing the station’s old sign on business 29 taken down makes her happy.

“Oh, I want them to see the gateway to Amherst County. How beautiful our county is, how we are growing and developing and welcoming businesses as well as customers,” Jones said.

The beautification committee and county have set aside $25,000 to plant new trees and county logos down the heavily traveled road.

“We’re doing this to instill community pride and to show a sense of pride along the corridor. So removing abandoned signs is one small step, but it’s a step to beautifying this corridor,” Jeremy Bryant, director of community development, said.

Less than a mile away, for a separate project, Virginia Department of Transportation wants to hear from neighbors about constructing new pedestrian sidewalks on Lakeview Drive and Woody’s lane.

Soon letters will be sent to businesses asking them about their improvements.

“That will give us that look, that appeal that people are looking for. No longer will we be out there, but we’ll be in now with everyone,” Jones said.

VDOT officials said on Sept. 18, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., they will hold a design public hearing to discuss an improvement project.

The purpose of the project is to improve safety and pedestrian connectivity on Route 29 North Business in Madison Heights, Amherst County. During construction one lane of traffic will be maintained at all times with temporary lane closures using traffic control devices. 

The hearing will be held at Monelison Middle School, 257 Trojan Road, Madison Heights VA. A rescheduled date for inclement weather will be Thursday, Sept. 20.