Manassas Park council endorses VDOT design for 600-foot Manassas Drive sidewalk
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Summary
The council voted to endorse VDOT’s design for a roughly 600-foot, ADA-accessible sidewalk on Manassas Drive and to support the project subject to final city-attorney review; VDOT said the federally funded project carries an estimated total budget of about $1.7 million with a 20% city match and a conservative completion target in 2029.
Manassas Park’s governing body on a voice vote endorsed a VDOT-led design for a roughly 600-foot sidewalk along Manassas Drive intended to provide ADA access to the VRE platform and parking area.
VDOT staff said the project, funded through the Transportation Alternatives Program with a required 20% local match, covers preliminary engineering, right-of-way and utility relocation, and construction. At the design briefing, staff listed preliminary budget components: about $498,000 for preliminary engineering, roughly $375,000 set aside for right-of-way and utility relocation, and about $850,000 for construction, for a combined total of approximately $1,700,000. VDOT described the $1.7 million as the current project budget and said an engineering cost estimate sits nearer $1.2 million; officials emphasized that right-of-way and utility relocation costs remain provisional until further analysis and that final costs may change.
Engineers described a constrained mid-section where a steep, wooded slope and a large culvert limit options. To avoid tree removal and major fill, designers reduced the sidewalk width in that segment to the AASHTO minimum of 4 feet, with 6-foot standard sections where space allows. Staff said they lowered a ramp slope to under 5% so the connector is classified as sidewalk rather than a ramp, which avoids a handrail and reduces maintenance needs. The plans retain the existing staircase and add an ADA-accessible connection that loops to the lower, flat sidewalk near the VRE parking area.
VDOT reported the design is about 40% complete, that no public hearing requests were received after the notice of willingness posting, and described a conservative schedule that anticipates design approval in the coming months, right-of-way and utility work afterward, advertisement in 2027 and possible construction completion in spring 2029. VDOT and city staff said the timeline is conservative and may be accelerated but that federal grant timing, central-office reviews, utility relocation and Norfolk Southern easement negotiations are the main drivers of schedule length.
Council members asked about the high per-mile cost implied by the budget and whether the narrowed 4-foot section meets ADA practice; VDOT staff responded that the 4-foot width meets AASHTO minimums in constrained sections and that the budget figures include allowances for ROW and utility work that are not yet finalized.
The staff recommendation to approve a resolution endorsing the Manassas Drive sidewalk project design, subject to final city-attorney review, was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The resolution endorsement does not commit the city to immediate construction spending beyond the TAP match requirement until further steps — design completion, right-of-way/utility negotiations and formal project advertisement — are complete.
Next steps listed by VDOT include final design approval, completion of right-of-way acquisitions and utility relocations, advertisement for construction, and eventual construction pending procurement and award timelines. Council staff said they will provide periodic status updates to the governing body and the public as project phases advance.
