CLIENT:

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

DESIGNER:

Dewberry Engineers Inc.

LOCATION:

Belmont, Virginia

DELIVERY METHOD:

Design-Build

COMPLETION DATE:

December 2018

Route 659 (Belmont Ridge Road) Reconstruct to 4-Lanes

In August 2015, Shirley Contracting Company, LLC (Shirley) was awarded the Route
659 (Belmont Ridge Road) Reconstruct to 4-Lanes Design-Build Project by VDOT. The
Project included the reconstruction and widening of two miles of Route 659 from 2 to 4
lanes from Gloucester Parkway to Hay Road. The Route 659 corridor is a heavily
traveled north-south commuter route which handled nearly 14,000 vehicles per day
on the existing 2-lane roadway and included sub-standard horizontal and vertical
geometry, including steep downhill grades approaching an at-grade crossing of the
Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail. The corridor carries heavy truck traffic with the
entrance to a regional stone quarry and asphalt plant located near the middle of the
Project. The Project included construction of a grade separated trail crossing, raising
the elevation of Route 659 over the W&OD Trail and correcting the substandard vertical
and horizontal geometry.

Adding to the complexity, coordination was required with separate contractors
concurrently widening adjacent sections of the Route 659 roadway and constructing
a residential community within the project limits. To successfully complete these
improvements, the Shirley Team coordinated with the adjacent Route 7/659
Interchange Project, Loudoun Water’s Force Main installation project, and the Ashburn
Overlook development to ensure traffic impacts were minimized and plans and
constructions schedules were coordinated.

The project scope included: two miles of reconstruction and widening from 2-lanes to 4-
lane median divided facility; 10’ wide shared-use paths on northbound and southbound
lanes totaling over 2 miles; right-of-way acquisition from 26 parcels; environmental
mitigation; 47,000 SF of noise barrier wall; 14,000 LF of storm sewer; 2 stormwater
management ponds; one new signalized intersection; utility relocations including: 9,000
LF of waterline, 41 Dominion Energy poles, 5,500 LF of Verizon underground;
Washington Gas relocation of 5,600 LF and 600 LF of AT&T conduit; dual single-span
bridges over the W&OD Trail; new parking lot and rest area for W&OD Trail users; and
adjacent project coordination.

As part of Shirley’s Technical Proposal, our Team committed to an interim milestone
for early delivery of the safety benefits of the grade separation at the W&OD Trail while
also proposing a Final Completion Date four months earlier than the date required by
VDOT’s RFP. The Team exceeded these commitments delivering the interim milestone 3.5
months earlier and achieving Final Completion of the Project 10 days earlier than
the dates proposed in the Technical Proposal.