Bids Awarded for Trail on Mason Neck

On Thursday, September 9th, the Lorton and Mason Neck Community got a little bit closer to seeing another segment of the Mason Neck Trail completed when the Fairfax County Department of Public Works held a Bid Opening Meeting for construction of Segment 2A of the Trail. Segment 2A consists of laying 1500 feet of asphalt that will run from the entrance of Pohick Regional Park to 300 feet west of Gunston Hall.  The Trail will be eight feet wide and will join the completed Segment 3 along Gunston Road.

In a small conference room at the Government Center Offices of the Construction Management Division in Fairfax, four bids were opened and read aloud.  The lowest bid for this segment came in at $183,287.00 and was submitted by E.E. Lyons Construction Company, Inc out of Vienna, VA.  Other bids were submitted by Ashburn Contracting Corporation ($198,046.50), Avon Corporation ($267,537.17) and Fort Myer Construction Corporation ($299,863.00)

Although E.E. Lyons provided the lowest cost bid, according to Walter Wozniak, Chief of the Planning Support Branch, Planning and Design Division, the division completes a "review of all the bids submitted including all required supporting documentation, a final determination will be made on [the] low bidder."

After the bids were read, and the meeting dismissed, a representative from E.E. Lyons met with staff from the Planning and Design Division who urged E.E.Lyons to move quickly on getting additional information to the County so that work may be completed before year end. 

The Mason Neck Citizens Association (MNCA) has been the main advocate for creation of the trail since 1998 and submitted the original application for the project's funding. The full five-mile trail will ultimately connect Route 1 to the Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge. As of yet, Segment 3 is the only segment open, which was completed in 2003 along the curviest part of Gunston Road. According to Joseph Chudzik, MNCA member and trail activist, this part of the trail was necessary for the growing number of cyclists, tourists, joggers, walkers and other trail-goers forced to share the road with motorists.

Chudzick, said that 80% of the funding for the trail has come from federal transportation enhancement grant funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).  VDOT sets aside 10% of their funding that "cannot be used for traditional highway improvement projects and are only available for projects that go beyond common transportation practice," said Chudzick, who has been working on securing fundung for the past 10 years. He said that the area has received other VDOT federal grants in the past, including 2007 funds for a Rochambeau-Washington Revolutionary Route historic display to be completed this year.  

In order to get the federal grant money, which amounts to 80% of the total proposed projects cost, Chudzick works to get a county match of 20%. This can be obtained directly from the county's budget, or in kind donations of land or money from the public or private organizations. Without securing the 20%, there is no access to the VDOT funds. With the Trail project going on for years now, Chudzick is concerned that the 1.6 million that has been raised with county and federal funds, that some of the money may be lost to inflation. Segment 2A is currently slated for completion before the end of 2010.