Landscape Architect Articles

LASN Stewardship June, 200306-01-03 | News

A ?EUR??,,????'??LEAF?EUR??,,????'?? in Lynchburg

Photos & Story by Harvey-Delaney Landscape Architects
Lynchburg, Va.

In the early 1990s, no money was allocated for esthetics by the Virginia Department of Transportation for existing roadway work, so a public-private partnership was formed to raise funds for improvements in state right of ways.

A $15 million highway improvement project was started in Lynchburg by VDOT in 1990.

Since no money is allocated for esthetics by VDOT for existing roadway work, the City and Proctor Harvey, of Harvey-Delaney Landscape Architects, began a unique approach to improving the looks of the Lynchburg Expressway. Never before had a public-private partnership been formed to raise funds for esthetic improvements in state right of ways.

The firm developed a conceptual design for both sides of the 4.2 mile roadway complete with plans and perspective drawings showing what the new road enhancements would look like. The end product was a book, which was used as a visual aid to help ?EUR??,,????'??sell?EUR??,,????'?? the project to city council and especially private donors. All significant donations were to be recognized with an award and a sign on the project. We designed the signs as part of the project.

More than a half-million dollars were raised, and the project was so successful that a second and third phase were added.

For fundraising, a public-private non-profit group was formed to assist the LEAF (Lynchburg Expressway Appearance Fund) project. Harvey worked closely with this group as a liason with the city.

The fund-raising campaign was developed to meet our budget estimate of $350,000. The project was so successful the ?EUR??,,????'??team?EUR??,,????'??, chaired by Smokie Watts, raised over a half million dollars in donations and in-kind services.

Detailed construction drawings were then developed, expanding the project with the additional funds.

The project was bid through the city process and a contractor chosen. The work was completed in 4 months of construction time. The overall LEAF project was completed in 1993.

All construction funding was from private donations secured by the fundraisers. It turned out to be a most significant win-win opportunity for the City and its citizens, as well as private corporations who obtained great ?EUR??,,????'??civic?EUR??,,????'?? advertising.

This project was so successful many people called with further interest, and even questions about why they were not contacted to participate! The team then decided to develop a second phase which began in 1994 and was successfully completed in early 1996.

Since 1996, we have gotten continued interest and are now in Phase III of our LEAF project.

Correction: In the April Issue of LASN, the Stewardship article failed to give credit to the author and photographer for the story. The article was written by Byron Dickson and the photos were taken by Harvey-Delaney Landscape Architects