Residents are calling on the Fairfax County Park Authority to ensure that a trail is constructed on the south side of a new tunnel in Colvin Run Mill Park.
Construction on the $1.5 million tunnel under Route 7 as part of the widening of Leesburg Pike is currently underway. But the project, which is managed by state officials, lacks a 1,000-foot trail to the south side of the tunnel that would allow residents to walk to the park’s sites in Great Falls, Lake Fairfax and Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail.
In a recent call to action by the Friends of Colvin Run Mill, James Waller described the issue as a a “tunnel to nowhere” and urged members of the nonprofit to ask elected representatives to allocate carryover funds for the project.
Last month, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors allocated $15.7 million to the park authority from the fiscal year 2023 budget carryover.
In a statement to FFXnow, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust says he hopes the park authority will use a portion of the carryover funds for the trail.
“The Park Authority, however, is an independent agency with many needs and challenges,” Foust wrote. “I cannot mandate when the Park Authority will allocate funds for the construction of this trail, but I am confident they consider it a priority and are trying to make it happen.”
But carryover funds can only be used for system-wide maintenance projects and not new amenities, according to FCPA spokesperson Benjamin Boxer.
“The carryover funding received from the County is restricted to different uses and will not be a part of this project,” Boxer said.
Boxer said the park authority has authorized up to $200,000 for feasibility, environmental review and design for the future trail project.
“Work is progressing as the studies have been completed and we are entering into the design phase of the project so that when future funding is identified, we will be ready to pursue the project,” Boxer wrote in the statement.
A new herb garden inspired by a 1910 classic on home remedies has officially opened at Colvin Run Mill in Great Falls.
The garden was started by Larry Herman, the master gardener on the board of Friends of Colvin Run Mill. He was inspired by the book, “Mother’s Remedies: Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from the Mothers of the United States and Canada,” which offers guidance on how to grow and prep herbs to treat ailments by making teas, ointments, plasters, syrups and tinctures.
The garden officially opened up in early June. Friends of Colvin Run Mill are working with camps to teach children about homemaking in the late 1980s
“In addition to grinding corn and baking, they make butter and candles, pickle beets, etc,” a representative of the organization told FFXnow. “Recently we have redone the family garden with flowers. The medical garden is an extension of the educational program and garden renovations.”
Herbs in the garden include yarrow, hollyhock, chamomile, feverfew, parsley, peppermint and thyme. Stems of clematis, a flowering vine, were used to make rope to bind sheaves of grain in order to prevent mice from gnawing on it.
Located at 10017 Colvin Run Road, Colvin Run Mill is open every day from dawn to dusk and features a 19th-century, water-powered gristmill as its main attraction. The historic site also has the miller’s house and a general store.
Accessing the Colvin Run Mill Historic Site may require a legendary feat until June.
As the widening of Route 7 continues, construction has started to impede easy access to the historic site, which is located at 10017 Colvin Run Road in Great Falls.
Traffic from Colvin Run Mill will turn right and continue to the east end of Colvin Run Road to access Route 7 from the east and west.
The traffic pattern change comes as crews complete utility work and other construction at the western portion of Colvin Run Road, according to a March 30 release from the county.
Site manager Julie Gurnee said signage will provide guidance for visitors.
“Coming from the west, all visitors are able to turn onto Colvin Run Road at the first entrance (Delta Glen) to enter; but to exit to Route 7, visitors will all turn right out of the site to turn onto Route 7 at the Carpers Farm/Route 7 intersection,” Gurnee said.
Here’s more from the county on the traffic changes:
Drivers entering the mill on Route 7 westbound will still be able to turn left on to Colvin Run Road at the Route 7/Delta Glen Court/Colvin Run Road intersection (west end of Colvin Run Road). Drivers entering the mill on Route 7 eastbound will still be able to turn right on Colvin Run Road at the Route 7/Carpers Farm/Colvin Run Road intersection.
The site offers classes, tours, and a general store that sells local tea blends, yellow grits, cornmeal, wheat flour and buckwheat. All grains are ground at the 200-year-old working mill. It is surrounded by trails and other outdoor amenities.
Traffic changes have routinely come up, as crews continue widening seven miles of Route 7 between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive. Shared-use paths and several infrastructure improvements are also planned along the corridor.
