Project Overview
Project Benefits for Residents, Visitors, Commuters
ReThink9 provides a range of benefits to motorists, visitors, businesses and area residents. The improved traffic flow will relieve congestion while the traffic calming features enhance safety. The streetscaping and multi-modal paths, combined with the infrastructure improvements will reclaim Hillsboro’s historic “Main Street,” provide economic opportunities for sustainability and long-term preservation.
REVITALIZE
Hillsboro as a pedestrian-safe and accessible community with sidewalks and multimodal trails
RECLAIM
Hillsboro’s historic “Main Street” with creation fo safe vehicular, pedestrian and multi-modal environment
RELIEVE
congestion for residents, commuters and visitors through one of the region’s busiest commuter and tourist travel routes
REINVEST
in the town’s future with modern infrastructure of buried utilities, new drinking and stormwater systems and foundation for wastewater collection
REVITALIZE
Hillsboro as a pedestrian-safe and accessible community with sidewalks and multimodal trails
RECAPTURE
Hillsboro’s historic role as the hub to a robust agricultural region – and gateway to today’s growing tourist destination
RESTORE
to protect, maintain and make accessible one of the Commonwealth’s best preserved historic assets
Traffic Calming and Infrastructure Solutions
ReThink9 is a multi-faceted road and infrastructure project that will calm traffic, reduce congestion and improve pedestrian safety on Route 9 through Hillsboro, as well as bury overhead utilities, provide stormwater management and drinking water and wastewater improvements.
By constructing all project components at one time, the Town of Hillsboro is reducing costs to taxpayers and significantly reducing impacts to traffic, residents and businesses during construction.
PROGRESS MADE
- All underground utility vaults/manholes installed
- All 13 retaining walls constructed
- All 100 stormwater structures installed
- 6,000 linear feet of stormwater drainage pipe installed
- All sanitary sewer main and laterals installed
- 11,500 linear feet of electrical conduits installed
- 16,500 linear feet of communications conduits installed
- 84% of granite curb installed (9,000 of 10,700 linear feet)
Project Location
The ReThink9 project is on Virginia Route 9 (Charles Town Pike) in the historic Town of Hillsboro, the 0.70 miles west of Rt. 719 (Stony Point Road) to Rt. 690N (Mountain Road).
The Town of Hillsboro is located in Loudoun County, Virginia, 12 miles northwest from Leesburg, approximately 50 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., and 12 miles east of Charles Town, West Virginia.
Innovative Route 9 Solutions
With an exponential growth in traffic on Route 9 through the heart of the Town of Hillsboro in the 1990s, the Town faced an existential threat to its viability and identified a vital need for a traffic-calming solution. It was through a grassroots effort and intense citizen engagement that the ReThink9 traffic-calming project was conceived and developed. This ambitious, multi-stage, Town-managed project will provide a safer traffic corridor for residents, visitors and thousands of daily commuters. The project also will establish multi-use paths connecting key sites in and around the Town.
Route 9 Project Features
Two single-lane roundabouts at the eastern and western entrances to Hillsboro to slow incoming traffic and mitigate traffic congestion
Traffic-calming raised and at-grade crosswalks and a connected sidewalk system to provide pedestrian safety
Multi-modal paths and trails to facilitate safe bike/pedestrian access throughout Hillsboro connecting to key civic institutions, businesses and historic assets
More than 50 safe, on-street parking spaces
Extensive streetscaping with native plant species and restoration of the historic—and traffic-calming—tree canopy
Utilization of durable and historically context-sensitive materials
Construction Elements
Development of an Eastern Roundabout
Development of a Western Roundabout
Interior Corridor Development with Streetscaping, Sidewalks, Crosswalks and Native Planting
Regional and Local Detours
Hillsboro Infrastructure Improvements
The Town of Hillsboro recognizes modern amenities are important to the prosperity and future of the historic town. Hillsboro will cost-effectively deliver a town-wide safe drinking water distribution system as well as introduce future-thinking infrastructure systems for wastewater and stormwater.
Infrastructure Project Features
A new safe municipal drinking water system, including a new well, storage tanks, treatment and distribution main, meters and service laterals
Burial of all overhead utilities
Installation of Town-owned, low-intensity, adaptable smart-sky LED pedestrian lighting system
Installation of sanitary sewer main and laterals
Construction of a subsurface stormwater management system
Installation of Town-owned communications conduit
Infrastructure Improvements
Undergrounding of Overhead Utilities
Safe Drinking Water Source & System
Wastewater Management System
Subsurface Stormwater System
Read About the ReThink9 Project Framework
“Build It Once, Build It Right, Build It Now”
Four Problems to Solve
- Traffic Safety, Speed and Congestion – with no safe pedestrian access or parking
- Unsafe Drinking Water – the Town has a Boil Water Notice and VDH Consent Order
- Lack of Municipal Wastewater – no proper collection or treatment facility and failing private septics
- Lack of Storm Water Management – causing damage to roadway and private properties
A Choice Was Made
- Town must take action for public health and safety
- Could approach as four discrete projects resulting in years of ongoing construction in Town and disruption to the entire corridor
- The Town chose to integrate four projects into one to enable concurrent construction
- This results in less time and disruption, a cost savings of millions of dollars and an increase in the quality of the end product
Town Principles Guiding Management of Project
The Town of Hillsboro has four overarching principles that will guide its management of the Hillsboro Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety Project.
Construction Duration
The project is to be delivered in the most time-efficient manner as is practicable with the intent to reduce the burden of construction on Hillsboro and area-wide residents, local motorists, in-town and area-wide businesses, tourists and regional commuters. The current schedule anticipates four hundred twenty-eight (428) calendar days of construction duration using a combination of full and partial road closures and incentives/disincentives to deliver the project on schedule.
Finished Product Quality and Durability
The project is to be executed with utmost attention to ensure the highest quality and durability of the finished product, including traffic-calming elements, reducing the risk of high long-term maintenance costs and maintaining the historical integrity of the Town of Hillsboro.
Safety
The project is to be built with rigorous attention to construction worker safety and the safety of Hillsboro residents and all motorists that traverse the route. Throughout the duration of the project the contractor will maintain access for emergency vehicles into and through the work zone and for trips originating or ending in the work zone for local residents and businesses. Detailed signage, in accordance with VDOT standards for construction, will be utilized for the regional and local detour routes.
Cost Effectiveness
In consideration of Town, Loudoun County and Northern Virginia taxpayers, the project is to be delivered with the highest degree of productivity possible and at the lowest reasonable cost.
In alignment with these overarching principles, the Town has worked diligently with VDOT to create a revised Maintenance of Traffic plan that reduces project duration by half and provides the project contractor with an extraordinary level of flexibility to encourage creativity and innovation in developing a construction approach and schedule.
Revised Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) Pattern Plan
The general sequence of work is to construct the east and west roundabouts to a satisfactory level of operation (Phases 1 and 2). Once both roundabouts are functioning, construction along Rt. 9 and the adjacent roads will proceed (Phase 3). Substantial completion of the project is with fully operational roundabouts, Rt. 9 and adjacent roadways constructed in accordance with the contract plans and documents.
Phases 1 and 2. The early construction of the roundabouts shall be performed out of traffic and/or with daily lane closures. Daily lane closures are allowed during non-peak hours of 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday thru Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Weekend daily lane closures are allowed between 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Phases 1 and 2 Daily Lane Closures Under Flagger Operations |
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| Mon-Thu | 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
| Fri | 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. |
| Sat-Sun | 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
Phase 3. Once both roundabouts are functioning, Rt. 9 can be reduced to a continuous single lane closure between the roundabouts and the detour plan will be implemented. During the morning rush hour of 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Monday thru Friday, Rt. 9 shall have a single lane of traffic for eastbound traffic. After 9:30 a.m., Rt. 9 can be closed to all thru traffic until 4:00 a.m. the following day, Monday thru Thursday. On Friday, the full closure of Rt. 9 is allowed between 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. After 2:00 p.m. on Fridays, Rt. 9 shall have a single lane of thru traffic for westbound traffic through the weekend. Traffic will be switched to a single lane eastbound on Sunday in the evening.
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Phase 3 Route 9 Travel Times and Direction |
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| Day | Times Open to One-Lane Traffic | Traffic Flow |
| Mon-Fri | 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (daily) | EB |
| Fri-Sun | 2:00 p.m. (Fri) to 6:00 p.m. (Sun) | WB |
| Sun-Mon | 6:00 p.m. (Sun) to 9:30 a.m. (Mon) | EB |
In addition, the contract allows for a total sixty (60) days of a full road closure within Town boundaries with no through traffic after the initial roundabouts become operational and prior to substantial completion. The Hillsboro full road closure must be supported with a detour and fourteen (14) calendar days advance notice from the contractor. The full road closure restricts ALL traffic along Rt. 9 in both directions within Town boundaries except for emergency vehicles and residents within the project limits. The sixty (60) calendar days can be used at the contractor’s discretion with the following conditions:
- Five (5) calendar days minimum duration
- Thirty (30) calendar days maximum duration
Notes:
- Both roundabouts are single lane
- There will be truck restrictions on the Hillsboro detour during Phase 3
- VDOT will implement lower speed restrictions along the Hillsboro detour
- The Town has established an incentive and dis-incentive pool to facilitate timely delivery of the project
- There may be updates to timing as the plan moves forward
This MOT plan is subject to refinement as we continue to meet with the public and stakeholders. Once a contract has been awarded, the contractor will present a formal schedule and sequence of work plan and potential revision to this MOT. We will make that public when available.
Proposed Detour Routes
The plan includes both “Regional Detour” and “Hillsboro Detour” around the Town construction limits. Click on the links below to open each map.
MOT Plan Set
Please click on the link below to view the MOT plan sheets as approved by VDOT on October 24, 2019.
Traffic Data Sets
Please click on the link below to view the Traffic Data Sets.
The above Project Framework was developed in September 2019 by a joint technical engineering team from the Town of Hillsboro and VDOT’s Northern Virginia and Staunton Districts. The information is shared in its original format, as published in October 2019.
The Maintenance of Traffic Pattern Plan has been revised in April 2020 with a full road closure within Hillsboro and implementation of local and regional detours moved up in light of reduced traffic, closed schools and diminished business activity during COVID-19 emergency.
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