City Council approves funds for Gateway Blvd. design

Fredericksburg City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement that will lead to the design of the four-lane Gateway Boulevard through the strategic Hylton Group property on the east side of Interstate 95.

Council allocated $500,000 to Fredericksburg’s Economic Development Authority for the design work, which will be conducted by Bowman Consulting over the next few months.

Gateway Boulevard will connect State Route 3 — with the entrance between the Bob Evans and Wendy’s restaurants — with Cowan Boulevard. That road has been in the City’s Comprehensive Plan since 1987. It will include a 10-foot multi-use path for pedestrians and bicycles on one side, and a sidewalk on the other.

The Hylton property has been eyed as a possible location for a planned roughly 426,000-square-foot Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic, which would be the largest in the United States. The clinic location is expected to be announced in 2020.

The City of Fredericksburg has committed to building Gateway Boulevard if the VA clinic comes to the Hylton property. Having the road designed before the award is announced will accelerate the project’s development if the Hylton site is selected. If it’s not selected, the City and Hylton will have a road design ready for a different economic development project.