Franklin Park Trail and Main Street Improvements

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Construction of approximately 1,000 feet of sidewalk along Main Street from Loudoun Street to North of High Street. Project includes pedestrian improvements, safety elements (ramps and striping), curbing, drainage improvements, designated parking, and streetscaping. The Town has completed the 28 Right-of-Way acquisitions needed from 24 properties and engineering has been complete and submitted to the Virginia Department of Transportation. The Town is partnering with Loudoun County to connect a trail from Loudoun Street to Franklin Park known as the Loudoun Street Trail.

GOALS ADDRESSED: This project addresses two major goals in the Town’s 2017-2037 Comprehensive Plan:

Under Part Two: Opportunities and Challenges, the Main Street Enhancement Project is identified as one of the largest general fund projects in the Town's history. It is identified as a project that will help with pedestrian and storm water enhancements.

Under the Transportation Goals, Objectives and Strategies, the Town has identified the goal of providing sidewalks, streetlights, trails and other amenities that will serve the needs of the residents for pedestrian and biking connections.

TOWN/COUNTY PARTNERSHIP

The Town of Round Hill and Loudoun County began discussing over 6 years ago how we could work together to save money for the taxpayers and make the project more efficient since they were linked together but funded by different VDOT/Federal Grants. This partnership was formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding that was approved by the Town Council and Board of Supervisors in 2018. Under this agreement and subsequent Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funding approvals, Loudoun County agreed to help the Town with the following task and responsibilities:

With two funding approvals in 2020 and 2021, the County allocated over $1 million dollars under their CIP Program which allowed the Town to cover increased construction cost and funding for an engineering firm to oversee the construction, engineering and inspection process once the contract was awarded. Without this funding, the Town wouldn’t have been able to complete this project without incurring substantial debt.

The County agreed to combine our projects and develop the bidding documents and complete the complex procurement process that is required for a federal funded project. The County agreed to serve as the construction and project manager for the Town’s Main Street Project. This project was assigned to Department of Transportation and Capital Improvements (DTCI) in Loudoun County. The County’s Project Manager will work with his team, the Construction Engineering Inspection (CEI) consultant and the Town’s Project Manager to make sure that both projects run smoothly while addressing any issues that may develop.

The County agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for the Town and handle all required federal and state documentation related to the project, all funding request and payments to the contractor. The Town has agreed to transfer to the County all of our VDOT grant funds allocated for this project and our local matching funds.

The Town of Round Hill is truly appreciative for the support that Supervisor Buffington, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Town Administrator Tim Hemstreet and the County staff have shown to make this decades old project move forward with construction beginning in August of 2020.

For more information, please visit the County's Round Hill to Franklin Park Trail website.

Construction Contractor 

Highway and Safety Services (HSS) is a company that prides itself on successful projects and are excited to be selected to perform the construction improvements to Main Street and Franklin Park Trail.  We understand that this project has been in the works for multiple years and will have a positive impact on the local residents and business owners of the Town of Round Hill and Loudoun County.  HSS looks forward to working with all the stakeholders over the course of the project. For more information on HSS, visit our web site at www.hiwayandsafety.com

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHEN WILL THE PROJECT BEGIN IN THE TOWN OF ROUND HILL? WE HAVE BEEN HEARING THAT IT WOULD START SOON FOR OVER 8 YEARS.

  • The County awarded the contract to Highway and Safety, LLC on June 5, 2020 and issued a notice to proceed in late July. The contractor is onsite and has begun construction of the trail in Franklin Park and around the Lakefield Road. Work on East Loudoun Street should commence around October of 2020 with work starting on Main Street in December of 2020.

WILL THIS PROJECT BE AN ASSET TO THE BUSINESSES AND HOMEOWNERS WHO LIVE ON THE IMPACTED MAIN AND LOUDOUN STREET CONSTRUCTION ZONE?

  • This project will bring many direct and indirect improvements to our community. The first improvement is the installation of sidewalks, trails and street crosswalks to allow pedestrians to safely navigate Main and Loudoun Street while gaining access to Franklin Park. Second, the Town will be upgrading the roadway and storm drainage in this area in order to accommodate the new pedestrian improvements. This will address flooding and storm drainage in this area for the first time in history. Third, these improvements will set the foundation for the Town’s Greenway Pedestrian Network that will link our community to future sidewalks and trails to the South, North and West.

WHAT IS THE LENGTH OF THE CONTRACT AND ANTICIPATED WORK ON THIS PROJECT?

  • The contract is awarded for an 18-month project schedule and we anticipate about 14 months of work to occur in the Town of Round Hill.

WILL THERE BE ANY ROAD CLOSURES?

  • The contract requires the contractor to maintain an open lane of traffic during most of the project so that the traveling public, businesses and homeowners can travel through Town and access their property. There will be times when the road will be closed for pipe crossings during the day but it should be reopened that evening. The Contractor will provide advance notice of any closure impacts one week in advance.

WILL ANY WORK BE PERFORMED AT NIGHT?

  • The contract doesn’t allow for night work. Only in emergency situations will there be any night work in the Town. All work must occur during the daytime approved work hours identified by VDOT.

HOW IS THE PROJECT BEING MANAGED BY THE TOWN AND COUNTY?

  • The original projects were actually separated into two different projects with the Town doing a pedestrian and storm drainage project on Main Street from the intersection of Loudoun Street to the curve at the Train Station complex. The County’s project began at the intersection of Loudoun and Main Street and headed east to connect into the existing trail network in Lake Point. The trail would then continue across Lakefield Road to Franklin Park. Two years ago, the Town and County formalized plans to have the County and their staff take the lead on the project. Based on agreements, the County will provide additional funding, serve as project management and be the fiscal agent for the Town. To help manage the daily construction, engineering and inspection services, the County procured engineering services from Whitman, Requardt & Associates (WRA), LLP. WRA is a regional full-service, multi-discipline construction management and professional engineering firm of over 750 personnel.  For over 100 years, WRA has provided construction management, inspection and professional engineering services for the planning, design, construction and close-out of transportation projects in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic. WRA is joined by sub-consultants CES Consulting, LLC and DMY Engineering Consultants, Inc. for this project. WRA brings a fully invested team having several members that reside in and around the Town of Round Hill, in addition to having a highly qualified team that is familiar with federally funded, locally administered projects in Loudoun County and throughout Virginia.WRA’s Team is led by Project Manager/Construction Manager, Mr. Leonard “Lenny” Coleman, PE, CCM. Mr. Coleman has over 15 years of experience in inspection coordination, project and program management, responsible charge engineering and Quality Assurance Management for locality, state and federal projects. He serves as WRA’s Regional Manager for Construction Management and Inspection services overseeing and mentoring Inspectors, Construction Managers, Schedulers, and Engineers in the Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, and Washington, DC areas. He is a graduate of George Mason University and lifelong resident of Virginia. He and his family enjoy weekend outings to Loudoun County wineries and breweries, so he is always nearby the project.

HOW DO I KEEP UPDATED ON THIS PROJECT?

  • Loudoun County has created a project page to provide a project overview and the current status of the project. Residents can also sign up for alerts on the project page. Visit Loudoun.gov/RoundHillTrail to stay updated on the project.

WHO CAN I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT?

  • The project will be managed by Loudoun County’s Department of Transportation and Capital Improvements (DTCI). The County’s construction manager is Edward del Rio and he can be reached 571-258-3990 or Edward.delrio@loudoun.gov. To provide support to the County on this project and all of the Town’s capital projects, the Town of Round Hill hired Robert Lohr in 2017. He can be reached at 540-454-3636 or rlohr@roundhillva.org.

EMERGENCY CONTACTS

During this project, the County of Loudoun and Town of Round Hill will have staff available to assist with any problems or emergencies after hours that may be created by the construction activities related to these projects.

For Project component located in the Town of Round Hill or related to Water or Sewer Service, please call:

Primary Contact
Robert Lohr
Town of Round Hill Project Manager
540-454-3636 (cell)
rlohr@roundhillva.org

Secondary Contact
Melissa Hynes
Town Administrator
571-329-8120 (cell)
mhynes@roundhillva.org

For Project component located in the County and in Franklin Park, please call:

Edward delRio Loudoun County Project Manager 571-271-7093 Edward.delRio@loudoun.gov