His statue has already come down from Monument Avenue.

Now the name of Jefferson Davis — the president of the failed slavery-defending Confederacy — is about to be erased from a major Richmond traffic artery.

Richmond City Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee on Tuesday swiftly cleared a proposal to make Richmond Highway the new name for the stretch of U.S. 1 in South Side that for generations has borne the name of the racist who led the 19th century revolt aimed at breaking up the United States.

Without discussion, Committee Chair Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District, and Vice Chair Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, voted to send the highway renaming proposal

to the full council, which is expected to easily approve the change at its next meeting on Monday, Dec. 14.

Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, 8th District, introduced the renaming proposal in June as demonstrations for racial justice occurred almost daily in Richmond. She had the support of City Council Vice Chair Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, and Mayor Levar M. Stoney.

The city has estimated it will cost $40,000 to replace the street signs along Jefferson Davis Highway, the only significant cost to taxpayers.

There has been no evidence of organized pushback from the community since Ms. Trammell submitted the proposal, and only one person spoke at the committee meeting to raise concern about the lack of renaming options.

Both Ms. Robertson and Ms. Gray signed on as patrons after approving the proposal, and most of the remaining council members are expected to join as patrons when the issue comes up for a vote.

Calls for changing the name of the highway have been heard in recent years from the likes of the Richmond Branch NAACP and the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, but the council ignored them until the protests evolved during the spring and summer over racial injustice and police brutality.

Richmond would be following in the footsteps of Alexandria, which replaced Jefferson Davis Highway with the name Richmond Highway two years ago; Arlington County, which

changed the name to Richmond Highway in 2019; and Prince William County, voted to rename its 12-mile stretch of the highway in early September.

So far, Chesterfield County has not moved to replace the Jefferson Davis name on U.S. 1 within its jurisdiction.

Richmond already has changed the name of ConfederateAvenue, a small, residential street in North Side. The council voted Nov. 9 to rename the street Laburnum Park Boulevard, following a two-year process.

Still, there are other name changes that remain on hold, including the renaming of the Robert E. Lee Bridge, which bears the name of the white supremacist Confederate military leader.