04/28/2026
Most people drive through the intersection of Hospital St. and N. 7th St. without realizing they are traveling over a cemetery and a site of National Significance.
Beneath these streets, the railroad tracks, and I-64 lies the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground—the final resting place for an estimated 22,000+ free and enslaved individuals.
THE CURRENT THREAT:
The City of Richmond and the VPRA plan to dig 12-foot foundations for five new railroad signals at this exact intersection. This invasive work is being planned despite the City’s own data showing that the existing signals are functioning; the primary safety issue is actually the road’s geometry.
THE SOLUTION:
A 'Paint-and-No-Turn' plan has been presented to officials as a non-invasive solution that fixes the traffic problem with zero digging and zero desecration.
THE STATUS:
Outreach was first made to the City, then to the VPRA, and the matter has now been escalated to Governor Spanberger via a formal complaint. State agencies recently granted a mandatory environmental re-evaluation for a suburban project in Henrico (Hungry Road). We are asking the Commonwealth to provide that same legal protection to the thousands interred at Shockoe Hill.
Safety can be achieved without desecration. We are waiting for a response.
