The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) expects the remaining half of the new Huguenot Memorial Bridge to open to all traffic Tuesday, May 28, weather permitting. The opening would come three months ahead of schedule, according to VDOT officials.

The new bridge is wider than the old bridge and includes one 12-foot travel lane and one 10-foot shoulder in each direction. The wider shoulders will function as both an emergency breakdown lane and an area for cyclists to safely use the bridge. In addition, there will be a 5-foot wide sidewalk on each side for pedestrians.

“The contractor, localities and VDOT have been committed since day one to keep this project on schedule,” said District Administrator Tom Hawthorne. “We’re pleased those efforts have resulted in the bridge opening three months ahead of schedule.” > Read more.

No one would ever accuse Fred McConnell of being a couch potato.

At 70, the program head and professor of engineering at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JSRCC) is slim and fit, and plays volleyball three nights a week or more.

So McConnell was not too alarmed at first when his heartburn wouldn't go away.

Even after two months, when the chest discomfort did not respond to medication and his doctor recommended a stress test, McConnell shrugged it off. > Read more.

A Disputanta, Va. man was cited at Richmond International Airport Oct. 8 after it was discovered that he had a .25-caliber handgun in his carry-on bag. TSA officers detected the gun as the man’s carry-on baggage passed through the checkpoint metal detector.

TSA officials contacted the Capital Regional Airport Commission Police, who regularly patrol the airport. The police responded, confiscated the weapon and issued two summonses to the man related to state weapons charges. There was no impact to airport operations. The man, who was ticketed to fly to Atlanta, was able to continue on his flight. > Read more.

The North Gayton Road Extension opened to traffic on Oct. 6, improving access to northwestern Henrico County and relieving traffic on Pouncey Tract Road and at West Broad Street’s intersection with Pouncey Tract and Pump roads.

Henrico Department of Public Works officials recommend that motorists use caution as they acclimate to the new road and traffic patterns. Some work by contractors will be ongoing.

The 2.1-mile project has provided a new, divided, six-lane road that extends North Gayton northward from West Broad. > Read more.

Community leaders and elected officials from across the region gathered in eastern Henrico Sept. 24 to celebrate the opening of a new resource center for job-seekers that is the first of its kind in Central Virginia.

The Resource Workforce Center, located just off Nine Mile Road at 121 Cedar Fork Road, is the first such center inthe area to serve both adults and older youth.

Members of the federally funded Resource Workforce Investment Board, which works to increase private sector employment opportunities, joined in cutting the ribbon to mark the official opening and followed up with tours and information sessions led by center staff and community partners such as the Community College Workforce Alliance, Job Corps, Virginia Employment Commission, and Senior Connections. > Read more.