Water and sewer upgrades to be made ahead of ‘Downtown Stafford’ project

STAFFORD — A wider Courthouse Road will come with upgraded water and sewer infrastructure ahead of what Stafford leaders hope will be a new centralized downtown for the county.

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors authorized a betterment agreement with a contracting firm to upgrade the water and sewer infrastructure along Interstate 95 and Courthouse Road near both the county courthouse and Route 1.

The Utilities Division of the County’s Department of Public Works determined that it would be beneficial and efficient to include additional improvements to the water and sewer lines in that area as a response to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) road widening projects on at the I-95/Courthouse Road interchange.

The work would require an increase in the pipe size from 8 to 12 inches for an existing water line along Wyche Road. The increased size was deemed necessary due to increased water demands in the Courthouse area, which is slated to become “Downtown Stafford,” envisioned as town center development with new homes, offices, and retail shops all located across the street from the county courthouse and government center.

As a result, The Paradise Estates Mobile Home Park will have their existing pump station replaced with a new gravity sewer line. Designed and constructed with the project, this 8-inch line will only serve the park and its residents.

It will also serve an integral part of the wastewater collection system for the Courthouse Area Redevelopment Area. The piping there would be increased to 12 inches to make room for more fire hydrants along the Courthouse Widening portion of the project.

The firm, Shirley Contracting Company LLC, is a subsidiary of Clark Construction Group, a transportation and heavy construction services firm based in Lorton won the contract. It’s currently building a diverging diamond interchange at Courthouse Road and Interstate 95.

Shirley Contracting will receive $112,050 from the Capital Improvement Program to fund the improvements.  

VDOT’s Interstate 95/Route 630-Courthouse Road Interchange Relocation and Route 630 Widening Project began construction in July 2017 to rebuild the I-95 interchange at Exit 140 (I-95/Rt. 630) as a diverging diamond interchange. The project will relocate the Exit 140 interchange slightly south of the existing interchange, drivers will continue to use the existing Exit 140 interchange until the end of construction.

In the meantime, new overpasses will carry Courthouse Road traffic over Interstate 95. The project will also relocate the intersection of Courthouse Road and Route 1 to the south to align with Hospital Center Boulevard.

Courthouse Road will be widened to four lanes between Route 1 and I-95 just west of Ramoth Church Road / Winding Creek Road.

A temporary traffic signal and a pedestrian crossing were installed at the entrance to Colonial Forge High School and the Liberty Knolls subdivision before the start of the 2017 – 18 school year.

Construction will also realign Ramoth Church Road and Winding Creek Road to intersect at a traffic signal. A traffic signal at this intersection is anticipated to be installed in spring 2019. A permanent traffic signal will be installed at the end of the project.

Construction on the Project is projected to be completed by July 2020.