Some stability has been restored to Sugarland Run.

The Town of Herndon has nearly completed a project to restore roughly 1,200 linear feet of natural stream and stabilize stream banks of Sugarland Run South from the Washington & Old Dominion Trail crossing to the pedestrian bridge crossing, according to town manager Bill Ashton II.

At a recent Herndon Town Council meeting, Ashton said the first phase of the project is “quickly coming to a close.”

“We are preparing to repave the pathway,” he said, adding that the work will officially wrap up in the fall after conditions because safe and reliable for the installation of new plans.

The project aimed to reduce sediment and improve water quality along the stream, whose steep banks had become eroded. Bioengineering methods like vegetation planting plans, in-stream structures and brush mattress installations were used to shore up the stream.

Although the trail will remain open during the remaining construction, the entrance at the Herndon Police Department remains blocked.

A $964,000 contract was awarded to KBS Earthworks, Inc. late last year. The project has been in the works for years.

Stream restoration creates a stable channel using natural materials to restore the function, dynamics and structure of the stream to the maximum extent possible, according to the town.

The Town of Herndon is moving forward with a multi-million-dollar contract to restore more than 1,000 feet of Sugarland Run Stream.

At a Herndon Town Council meeting tomorrow (Tuesday), the council is expected to vote on awarding a nearly $964,000 contract to KBS Earthworks, Inc. to complete the project.

Public bidding on the project closed on Sept. 9. The lowest bidder — Geomorphic Restoration — did not respond to the town’s request for additional documentation.

“The next lowest bidder KBC Earthworks, Inc., has been found to be responsive and responsible,” John Irish, deputy director of the town’s public works department, said in a statement.

The project includes restoring 1,100 linear feet of the stream, along with 250 linear feet of three tributaries on the town’s property. The design also includes pedestrian access to the east side of the project.

The trail will remain open during restoration, but the portion of the trail central to the site will be replaced during the construction project.

“Stream restoration will include but are not limited to constructed riffles, rock cross vanes, rock toe revetments, plunge pools and rock outfall channels,” a staff memo says.

The project has been in the works for years. Stream restoration creates a stable channel using natural materials to restore the function, dynamics and structure of the stream to the maximum extent possible, according to the town.

A project timeline was not immediately available.

The Vienna Town Council dedicated over half a million dollars on Monday (Aug. 29) to an ongoing project to restore Bear Branch tributary, a stream that runs through Southside Park to I-66.

With no discussion, the council awarded a $543,258 design contract to A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc. (AMT), one of five engineering firms that submitted proposals for this second phase of a two-part project this past spring.

This phase of the restoration will address approximately 2,300 linear feet of stream that flows through the park, parallel to Walker Street SW and Ross Drive SW, by stabilizing “the steep, eroded stream banks,” according to town staff.

“The completed project will reduce sedimentation and improve the stream’s water quality using natural channel design techniques,” the project page says.

In addition to shoring up the stream banks, the project will involve the replacement of a pedestrian bridge and the development of a “functional” pedestrian trail from the bridge to an existing sidewalk.

As part of its proposal, AMT said it would provide two recommendations for a possible bridge design and work with the town and park staff to develop the trail. The firm’s contract consists of a base fee of $497,744 with $45,514 added for the bridge and trail.

Carrying an estimated total cost of $2.5 million, the project is being funded by both Fairfax County and the town, which obtained a grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in November 2019.

The project’s first phase, which focused on the stream segment parallel to Patrick Street SW and Yeonas Park, got funding approved in 2019 and a design contract awarded in July 2020.

The first phase’s design plan is nearly complete and will be presented at a community meeting next Thursday (Sept. 8).

Photo via Town of Vienna

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Fairfax County has sealed the deal on a plan to restore a portion of Scotts Run stream parallel to the Capital Beltway.

The county’s Board of Supervisors approved an agreement today (Tuesday) with the Virginia Department of Transportation, which will contribute almost $1.4 million to the project’s design and construction.

The project will restore approximately 4,900 linear feet of stream between Old Dominion Drive and Lewinsville Road in McLean, “providing nutrient reduction and improved water quality in the Scotts Run watershed,” according to a staff report.

The county will fund the remaining $5.2 million needed for the project, which carries a total estimated cost of $6.6 million.

The agreement with VDOT had been in the works since 2020, as county officials called on the state to help address the anticipated environmental impact of extending the I-495 Express Lanes from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons past the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Construction on the 2.5-mile 495 NEXT road project began in late May.

The agreement deals with just one part of a larger effort to restore Scotts Run stream, which flows north from the I-495 and Route 123 interchange and extends all the way through McLean to the Potomac River.

In a Middle Potomac Watersheds Management Plan finalized in 2008, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) recommended evaluating approximately 7,800 linear feet of Scotts Run and a tributary between the toll road and Old Dominion for restoration sites.

The stream banks in the upstream portion of the restoration area are undercut and eroded with many trees along the bank falling into the stream. Woody debris accumulation in the stream has inhibited any defined riffle and pool development. Irregular point bars of sand and gravel are seen along this stream length and bank full flow (1.5 to 2 year storm) is predicted to be at the top of the streams banks.

Proposed restoration activities included removing woody debris and trash, reconfiguring the stream bank and channel, planting vegetation, and placing in-stream structures to support the stream’s habitat.

According to a stormwater management projects map, about 600 feet of a tributary at Windy Hill Road in McLean was restored in 2019. The county also secured a commitment from developer Cityline Partner to improve the stream where it passes through the Scotts Run development in Tysons East.

It will take some time for the new Scotts Run restoration project to come to fruition. DPWES staff had an initial scoping walk to look at the site last month, according to a spokesperson.

The funds for the design will be available starting this year through fiscal year 2025, which will be from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, but construction funding isn’t expected to be available until fiscal year 2026.

Photo via Google Maps

Fairfax County Public Works and Environmental Services has started construction on a project to improve a watershed in Kings Park West near Burke by restoring eroded stream banks.

Part of a plan approved over a decade ago, the Shanes Creek restoration seeks to stabilize the channel and prevent future erosion and degradation along the stream. It will also reconnect the channel to its floodplain and restore native trees and herbaceous planting to promote natural reforestation and a healthy ecosystem, according to a project page.

“The project will restore more than 4,800 linear feet of natural channel and about 1,300 linear feet of outfall leading to it,” the project page says, noting that construction work began on April 13.

The project requires closures of the trail network leading from nearby residential neighborhoods into Royal Lake Park, which is just to the south of the creek.

“The existing parkland trails within the project boundaries will be closed for the duration of the project to ensure public and worker safety,” the Fairfax County Park Authority said. “Active construction is anticipated to be completed by winter 2023.”

According to DPWES, work on the stream will start at Roberts Road, and crews have begun to set up fencing, “trail closed” signs, and other equipment. Trail closures will depend on where construction is underway.

“We are attempting to keep as many open as we can while construction is occurring, so there is not a clear map of what is open now [versus what] will be later,” DPWES spokesperson Sharon North said by email. “…We are working to install the fence and signs as we can.  The limits of disturbance will be well marked before construction of the stream starts.”

The Board of Supervisors approved a watershed management plan for the Pohick Creek watershed in 2010. The plan called for stream restoration efforts to re-establish those waterways that would help minimize erosion, including planting vegetation to stabilize and protect stream banks.