New park means improvements to Occoquan River foot bridge

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A foot bridge over the Occoquan River provides an expansive view of the town, and a small waterfall. 

Once a bridge that carried vehicles over the river 40 years ago, today’s smaller footpath provides walkway for an easy stroll through town for for residents and visitors.

The bridge also provides a great view of the town’s new Rivermill Park that is currently under construction. The park will bring visible changes to the bridge, and visitors to this fall’s annual Occoquan Craft Show on Sept. 26 and 27 should notice some of those changes. 

Here’s more from Occoquan Town Manager Kirstyn Jovanovich: 

We’re about to start the second phase of park construction in a few weeks, which includes the construction of the restroom and storage facility and improvements to the footbridge that crosses the Occoquan River.

 During the upcoming Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show on September 26 and 27, visitors will see the changes in progress as we expect to have one side of the chain link fence removed and replaced with railing, as well as some of the lights installed along the footbridge.

People will still be able to utilize the footbridge as part of the shuttle stop service for the Fall Arts and Crafts Show. However, after the show and as construction continues, the bridge will be closed at various points for safety reasons as conduits, lighting and railing are being installed on the footbridge.  

The construction of this portion of the project is expected to last until December of this year. We’re also currently working on the next phase of the project, which includes the construction of a pavilion and completion of the looped stone-dust trail inside the park.  

Plans for this portion of the project are currently under review.  The park is not yet open as it continues to be an active construction site, but staff is currently working on a grand opening event for Spring of 2016 to celebrate the success of this joint project with the Town, Prince William County and Fairfax Water.

The site on which the park sits used to be a drinking water facility owned by Fairfax Water.