Construction crews are gearing up to repair Russell Road, at the entrance to Quantico Marine Corps Base.
A Prince William County spokeswoman writes PLN:
The work to be done at Russell Rd. is really two different projects. As you enter the base on the right side, there is a slumping of soil happening due to water infiltration and bad soil. This slumping is occurring near the road elevation.
This area will be excavated in several different steps down the slope and new material placed back. The guardrail will be removed and if asphalt needs to be milled due to undermining, it will be milled and replaced. Guardrail will be placed back in the new soil and the road striped if necessary. The new soil will be hydroseeded to stabilize from any further erosion.
The left side of the road has a failing corrugated metal pipe causing a sinkhole. This will be replaced with the same size pipe, however it will be a 0.50” thick steel casing pipe. The new pipe will be bored under the road to avoid open excavation due to depth and traffic issues. Upon installation of the new pipe, the old pipe will be filled with cement and properly abandoned and the sinkhole on the left side of the road will be filled with new soil. New headwalls will be placed on the pipe and all disturbed areas will be hydroseeded.
The work will start within the next few weeks with an authorized task order from the Marine Core Base Quantico.
The work comes as the county has inked a new agreement with the Marine Corps Base to maintain some of its roads.
Prince William County penned some of the details of that agreement in a press release:
The agreement will allow the county to work on drainage and road projects on the base. “This is why this agreement was necessary,” said Tom Smith, the director of the Prince William County Department of Public Works. “This is the mechanism and means to get this done. Quantico approached us and said they would be willing to enter into this agreement. This is an umbrella agreement where, anytime they need some work that we believe is a public benefit, and we have time to do it, they can ask us to give them a price. If everything works out, we would go in and do the work for them.”
Traffic problems at the base can spill out into the community. “We’re bringing about 25,000 people aboard the base every day,” said Marine Corps Base Quantico Base Commander Col. Will Bentley. “Any problem with one of the two main side entrances, for any period of time, will cause a backup out onto I-95, and onto Route 1, so the impact is felt throughout Prince William County. This is really about partnership in particular. We’re part of the neighborhood. Our roads impact Prince William County. People do use the base—people who live out in the town and people who come on the base and even use the base as a transportation mode to get in and around traffic on I-95.”
The base will reimburse the County for the cost to make the repairs to Russell Road and any other future projects.
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