The Manassas Park governing body voted to endorse VDOT’s design for a roughly 600-foot sidewalk along Manassas Drive, approving a resolution that staff said is subject to final city attorney review.

Steve Hall, transportation program manager, told the council the project originated from VDOT technical assistance and a Transportation Alternatives Program award and will provide ADA access to the VRE platform. "This project has been in the works for some time," Hall said during the presentation.

VDOT engineering staff described constraints in the middle section of the corridor — a steep, wooded slope and a large culvert — and said those conditions required design compromises. VDOT said it reduced ramp slope to under 5% to classify the connection as a sidewalk rather than a ramp, and that parts of the route are narrowed to meet AASHTO minimums.

On status and cost, VDOT said, "So currently, we're at 40% of design." The agency gave an engineering cost estimate of about $1,200,000, noted a placeholder of $375,000 for right-of-way and utility relocations, and identified roughly $850,000 for construction, resulting in a total shown in materials of approximately $1,700,000. VDOT staff said the funding is federal with a 20% city match per TAP policy.

Council members pressed VDOT for clarification of the budget and schedule. One council member pointed out the arithmetic: "This is 600 feet of sidewalk, and it's costing 1,700,000," and asked where that figure came from. VDOT replied that the $1.7 million figure reflects the current funded budget available to the project, while the engineering estimate at this stage is about $1.2 million; right-of-way and utility costs remain uncertain until further analysis.

VDOT and their consultants laid out the next steps: obtain design approval, complete right-of-way acquisitions and utility relocations, advertise the project, and move to construction. Staff presented a conservative schedule that anticipates advertising in 2027 and a target to complete construction in spring 2028 (VDOT noted some materials referenced spring 2029 as an alternate target and described the schedule as conservative and potentially subject to acceleration).

Council voted to endorse the design resolution. The staff recommendation presented to the governing body was: to approve the resolution endorsing the Manassas Drive sidewalk design, subject to final city attorney review. The motion was moved, seconded and approved ('Aye; Motion carries').

Next steps identified by staff include completing final design approval, negotiating necessary easements (including coordination with Norfolk Southern for railroad-related easements), refining right-of-way and utility estimates, and returning to the council with status updates as phases progress.