A new bridge will give pedestrians on the Hillside Road Trail smooth sailing on a previously troublesome section of path.
Construction crews from the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) installed a 160-foot, steel pedestrian bridge on a section of the Hillside Road Trail, over the weekend of Feb. 24-28. The bridge connected two sections of sidewalk that run up to a steep drainage ravine. Previously, that ravine meant a nearly 200-foot gap in the trail. Now the bridge will link the sidewalk segments.
“We are kind of traversing that creek, because there’s no room to put a sidewalk next to the road,” said Rose Barrie, engineer for the DPWES. The bridge was installed on the west side of Hillside Road, crossing over the ravine.
Crews closed a section of Hillside Road, between Cameo Square and Moverly Court, beginning Thursday, Feb. 24, at 11 p.m. The bridge was installed in three sections, beginning with a 60-foot segment, which crews lifted into place with a crane and then bolted down. They then spliced two 50-foot segments into place for the remaining 100-foot segment of the bridge. The bridge has a timber deck and a steel frame.
While the bridge is the centerpiece of the Hillside Road Trail construction project, Barrie said crews will be working for the next month or so to link the bridge with the two sections of sidewalk leading up to it. That will involve leveling and smoothing the earth and bringing the sidewalk — on one side concrete, on the other asphalt — to the edge of the bridge. Handrails, guardrails and proper drainage will also be installed.
<1b>— Glenn McCarty