This year’s Homecoming parking situation will be a little different.

With the construction of the new Annexes on campus, there will also be less parking available to students, faculty, and alumni.

In May, The Virginia Department of Transportation closed the Appomattox River Canal Bridge for needed repairs. This bridge, according to a statement by Virginia State, provides access from Petersburg to Virginia State. Homecoming participants will be unable to get onto campus from the Appomattox Bridge like in previous years. VSU states that ‘while the road will be blocked due to the repairs, pedestrians can still use a footpath to cross the river, but there is no parking in the area.’

While the Bridge entrance will be closed, Homecoming participants can access campus through Colonial Heights and the North Gate in Ettrick; the South Gate or Petersburg entrance will also be open to traffic from Chesterfield Avenue on Friday and Saturday of Homecoming weekend.

Those looking to participate in Homecoming festivities ‘are encouraged to arrive earlier,’ according to Virginia State’s Homecoming news release.

Paid parking will also be available at the Multi-purpose Center until the lot is full. Payment will only be taken electronically. There will also be free parking at Ettrick Elementary School on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Homecoming Parade, which would usually go through the now-closed Appomattox Bridge, will be a much smaller, shorter parade. The parade route will start at Lee St., cut through the campus, and end at MPC Way into the Multi-purpose Center parking lot. The full parade route can be viewed above.