A months-long sidewalk project in the Town of Vienna is getting back on track after halting during last month’s winter storm.
Construction restarted earlier this week a couple of blocks along Park Street SE recently freed from several inches of snow and ice, reducing that section of road to one lane with crews controlling traffic from alternating directions.
Despite the weather-induced delay, the upgrades are still expected to finish this spring as previously projected, according to Vienna Public Information Director Karen Thayer, though any additional storms could change that.
“Potential weather conditions are usually factored into a construction project timeline,” Thayer told FFXnow. “As of now, the Town expects the Park Street sidewalk project to be completed sometime in the spring. However, it is possible that future weather events could result in a timeline extension, just as they would with any construction project.”
Under construction since October, the project is replacing an asphalt path on a 1-mile stretch of Park Street from Fardale Street SE to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail crossing near the Vienna Community Center with a wider, more level concrete sidewalk.
The existing path “was deteriorating and had become unsafe for pedestrians” due to various trip hazards, including cracked or uneven surfaces and tree roots bumping up underneath the pavement, the town’s newsletter, Vienna Voice, said when announcing the start of construction last fall.
“The ultimate goal is to provide a safer route to school, work, parks and businesses for the town’s residents,” the Town of Vienna said.
Though “every effort” was made to preserve as many trees as possible, some trees have to be removed to make way for the new sidewalk, the town said, adding that staff members were working with homeowners along Park Street to replace any eliminated trees.
Construction has been progressing about two blocks at a time, with crews typically working from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays. During those hours, workers have been blocking off the northbound lane, limiting traffic to the southbound side of Park Street.
Costing an estimated $600,000, the asphalt replacement project was funded by Vienna with its American Rescue Plan Act allocation.
The town received a total of $17.1 million from the federal spending package, which was passed by Congress in 2021 to help local and state governments recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vienna spent its money on various infrastructure and capital projects, police body cameras, software and cybersecurity upgrades, economic development support, and more.
