Round Hill, County Join Forces To Complete Trails

The Town of Round Hill and the Loudoun Board of Supervisors have formally combined two long-planned construction projectsthe Round Hill to Franklin Park trail and the towns downtown stormwater management and sidewalk improvements.

Town Manager Buster Nicholson said town and county staff members are developing a memorandum of understanding to govern the joint management of the projects. The goal is to promote more efficient traffic management and reduce disruption for residents.

Weve never done that before with the townwere breaking new ground, Mark Hoffman, the countys capital design program manager, said. He is the design manager for the project. There are still two separate projects, but under the agreement, the county will provide construction management services and obtain easements in the county, while the town staff will take care of land acquisition within the town.

There are 25 easements needed in town and 36 in the county, Nicholson said. If all goes well with the easement acquisition process, both Nicholson and Hoffman said they hoped to award a construction contract before the end of the year, with work to begin next spring.

For the town, the work includes sidewalk improvements with curb and gutter, and the installation of a 36-inch stormwater pipe at the intersection of the towns two main streetsLoudoun and Main, Nicholson said. The town budgets $20,000 annually to maintain and repair sidewalks, but the $1.2 million Main Street enhancement project will significantly improve the area. The Virginia Department of Transportation will pay the bulk of the project through a federal enhancement grant, with the town providing its 20 percent match through paying some engineering costs and acquiring easements.

The county trail project starts at Main Street, with the stretch between Main and Evening Star Drive having sidewalks on both sides of the street. The actual trail begins just east of the Lake Point subdivision. From that point the asphalt trail will tie into the existing trail at Franklin Park, ending at the pool.

Hoffman said construction would take nine months to a year.

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Round Hill, County Join Forces To Complete Trails