BoS uses eminent domain to complete sidewalk on Little River Turnpike
Fairfax County’s project to construct a sidewalk on the south side of Little River Turnpike between Hillbrook Drive and Little River Run Drive in Annandale hit a snag when county staff couldn’t find the owner of a small piece of property.
The county’s Land Acquisition Division obtained the land rights for nine of the 10 affected properties but couldn’t identify the owner of a narrow strip of land consisting of a paved pathway next to the Little River Run Mews townhouses. As a result, the Board of Supervisors was required to hold a public hearing on a proposal to use quick-take eminent domain powers.
Following the hearing, on June 27, the board passed a resolution authorizing the county to acquire the necessary land rights. The land rights are needed for a storm drainage easement, a grading easement, and a temporary construction easement.
At the hearing, a county staff member said they searched property records going back 100 years and couldn’t find an owner.
The walkway project includes 1,550 linear feet of a nine-foot-wide sidewalk, a new walk/don’t walk sign at Little River Turnpike and Hillbrook Drive, bus stop loading pads, curbs, ramps, gutters, retaining walls, drainage improvements, and relocation of a water line and overhead utility lines.
It’s part of an effort to fill in the sidewalk gaps between Annandale and Lincolnia.
If only the Seven Corners area could get some attention. Rt. Seven and Patrick Henry Dr. has been in desperate need for decades. Great Bus Stop – Just don’t walk safely East Bound once you get off the bus.