The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 8 in its board room in the County Government Center in Leesburg on the possibility of abandoning the Ruritan Circle in Sterling.
David Mahoney, a Dewberry & Davis LLC project manager for the Route 28 and Route 625 interchange project, has petitioned the board to abandon the Ruritan Circle, which crosses the Washington and Old Dominion (W & OD) Trail. The move would coincide with the realignment of Church Road and the bridging of Route 625 over the trail. The proposal calls for abandoning 2,133 square feet to vehicle use and using it for pedestrian and bike W&OD users. The trail is owned by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.
The interchange project would add two lanes to Route 625 across the Authority's trail. Under federal requirements, the Virginia Department of Transportation would have to obtain replacement land in exchange for the crossing. VDOT also would buy a small parcel southwest of the W&OD intersection for a paved connecting path.
Some area residents object to the move, saying the road abandonment would reduce their access to the area, create safety issues for fire and rescue vehicles, impair traffic access onto Church Road and adversely affect truck delivery. Proponents say abandonment is essential to widening and relocating the Route 625 approach to the Route 28 interchange bridge. It also would remedy a traffic problem involving Route 625 and the pedestrian and bike trail. Officials say other replacement land is not available currently.