On June 19, 2019, County Administration received a request from the City of Fredericksburg for County funding assistance (valued at $135,000) for a planned bicycle/ pedestrian bridge over Hazel Run. The proposed bridge is along a segment of the Virginia Central Railway (VCR) Trail extending between Route 1 (to the east) and Interstate 95 (to the west). Due to lack of a bridge structure, the trail presently dead-ends near the Hazel Run bridge location between the Village of Idlewild (City) and Kingswood Subdivision (County). The public access trail has users from both neighborhoods. The bridge crossing is located within the City of Fredericksburg in close proximity to the County line (within 100’). Much of the developed trail corridor west of Route 1 is either within City of Fredericksburg limits or on VCR right-of-way within Spotsylvania County but owned by the City of Fredericksburg. In Spotsylvania County, the Kingswood community has no fixed link to the Trail and community members have expressed frustration over those seeking to access the trail simply “trail blazing” through private property for access to it. The Kingswood community has expressed interest in establishing a private-access only connection to the VCR Trail and appear to be the only Spotsylvania subdivision that would benefit from construction of the planned bridge unless the Board of Supervisors supports eventual extension of the VCR Trail along the historic rail bed to the west with a new bicycle/ pedestrian only connection crossing the Interstate via bridge or tunnel.
Staff reached out to the City to provide greater clarity regarding the bridge project and their request for funding assistance. The design of the bridge itself will be similar to those already installed on the City trail system. Photo examples of the expected type of bridge structure have been attached. As per the City, “They are steel frame structures that span historic bridge abutments without touching them.” The urgency of this request comes due to a soon to expire bid and increases in steel costs that have resulted in a funding gap beyond the $160,000 already “in hand” from Smartscale funding. The Smartscale funds already awarded cannot be held in reserve indefinitely. A plan to close the fund gap and implement the project is needed as soon as possible. As per the City “there is no certainty that the next bids will not be higher”. Aside from the lack of funds, because the project is otherwise “ready to go”, construction is expected to begin this summer and no additional delays are expected to result in additional funding gap concerns. The City has confirmed that without County participation the current project will likely be terminated and Smartscale funds lost.
Future Trail Expansion - Staff believes this project to be of most value to the County if the Board is supportive of implementing a public access recreational trail along the historic rail bed extending further west to I-95 and beyond through bridge or tunnel construction. If not, this bridge structure chiefly benefits residents of Kingswood subdivision.
Funding – The City has requested $135,000. If the Board wishes to fund the $135,000 request, the Finance Department recommends use of the Capital Projects Fund balance, which would require a budget adjustment to be approved by the Finance Committee and then by the Board. Staff notes shifting funds within the Capital Projects Fund ultimately partially defunds out-year projects in favor of more urgent short term projects. Those funds will inevitably need to be replenished to re-fund those future projects.
Planning staff also explored alternative funding options that may be available in the form of grants. There are often eligibility and matching requirements to consider and certain application filing and review windows associated with grant requests. This request for commitment of funds is tied to an extremely short timeframe with a bid set to expire by the end of July, 2019. The Finance Department’s Grants Division and Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) were contacted to help identify potential alternative funding sources that may help close the gap. The Spotsylvania Grants Division and FAMPO were unable to identify any applicable funding resources. County Grants also spoke with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation who were not aware of any readily available funding opportunity.
Additional background and analysis concerning this request and implementation of the Virginia Central Railway Trail are located in the attached memorandum.