Chesterfield County officials announced on April 30 that the jail’s adjacent roadway and front lobby will experience six temporary, day-long closures this spring and summer due to ongoing HVAC unit upgrades.
The project, which began in August 2025, is expected to finish in September. Most of the internal work has been completed, but significant exterior work remains. The next phase will start on May 4 and includes removing and replacing six rooftop HVAC units by crane. This operation will require full closure of Lori Lane as well as the jail’s front lobby during each phase.
Each unit’s removal and replacement is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. on these tentative dates: May 4, May 18, June 1, June 15, June 29, and July 13. During these times, all vehicle traffic will be rerouted to McElfish Way. Attorneys will not be able to conduct professional visits with inmates, and citizens will not have access to the inmate money machine.
County staff say that disruption for those inside the jail should be minimal because project phases allow time for shifting workspaces and housing areas as needed.
Chesterfield County Public Schools District enrolled a total of 64,183 students during the most recent school year according to data from Virginia Department of Education. Among its schools, Thomas Dale High School had the highest enrollment with 2,582 students as reported by state education records. The largest ethnic group in county schools was white students at about forty-three percent of enrollment (27,369), followed by Black students who made up just over twenty-six percent (16,632) according to state data.
Overall enrollment increased slightly compared with last year—rising by point eight percent from sixty-three thousand one hundred five students previously as noted by official figures. For early learners specifically: Chester Early Childhood Learning Academy welcomed three hundred seventy-eight pre-kindergarteners—the largest number among county schools—representing forty-point-one percent of all pre-K students in Chesterfield according to state reports. Old Hundred Elementary School enrolled one hundred forty-nine kindergarteners—the most among elementary schools—which accounted for three-point-four percent of all kindergarteners countywide as indicated by education statistics.
