Fairfax County: Trips Run flood project enters 65% design; sewer work will shape final plan

Jacob Green, project manager with Fairfax County’s Stormwater Planning Division, opened the meeting and said the county is “providing some updates regarding the flood mitigation project out at Trips Run, which is now entering into the 65% design phase.”

The project covers the section of Trips Run that runs through the Bel Air and Sleepy Hollow neighborhoods and a portion of Sleepy Hollow Park. Staff said the county selected a scenario that included voluntary acquisition and demolition of nine properties along Barrett Road and removal of the Holloway Road bridge to create a floodplain bench and other stream improvements after several major floods in 2019 and 2020.

County staff emphasized that the sanitary sewer work — shifting an existing sewer line within easements from Annandale Road downstream to Sleepy Hollow Road — will inform the final flood-mitigation design. “I’m expecting to get a submission for that sewer alignment in mid August,” Jacob Green said, and staff said sewer and flood designs will move concurrently once those plans are complete.

Staff described next steps as additional design-phase meetings, a pre-construction briefing for nearby residents and ongoing coordination with utility owners and grant partners. The county plans to post the meeting recording and follow-up materials on the project webpage.