Overview
The Fall Line trail is a 43-mile shared-use path running north-south through Richmond and coursing through seven localities, including Ashland, Hanover, Henrico, Richmond, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg. Timmons is the Lead Designer responsible for delivery of the Northern Section.
The first VDOT-administered segment of the Fall Line Trail network, this northern 4.5-mile section connects Ashland to Henrico County by way of Hanover County, traversing a historic trolley line corridor, traveling through Dominion Energy transmission right-of-ways, and bridging the Hanover/Henrico border with a crossing of the Chickahominy River.
Timmons is responsible for overall design management, trail design, bridge and retaining wall design, environmental coordination and permitting, survey, geotechnical engineering, stormwater management, hydraulics, floodplain modeling, right-of-way acquisition, utility coordination, and design services during construction.
Navigating the 4.5-mile corridor to final design required precision and careful management of site constraints, especially extensive wetlands. The team identified early that construction on critical path items couldn’t begin without permits, even in areas outside jurisdictional waters. Timmons Group led the permitting effort, first flagging Section 106 as a major risk due to missing historical resources in prior coordination. Within 30 days of NTP, Timmons initiated a meeting with VDHR and—responding to early feedback—collaborated with VDOT and stakeholders to revise the design. This proactive approach led to a No Adverse Effect decision. This proactive approach led to a No Adverse Effect finding, timely issuance of the USACE wetland permit, and secured mitigation credits, allowing construction to begin in June 2024.
