Butler Road to close as bridges on trail are installed

Updated: The bridges will be delivered sometime around 2-3 a.m. Thursday morning–meaning that the road won’t be closed during a time of heavier traffic. They will be taken to the construction site at Brooks Park and then installed once the ground is drier.

Original: Two pedestrian/bicycle bridges will be put in place on the Belmont–Ferry Farm Trail System on Thursday morning, near the Rappahannock Area YMCA in Stafford County.

That means Butler Road could be closed sometime between 9 a.m. and noon as a truck delivers the bridges to the construction site. (Denedi

The 4-mile trail system has been in the works for years, and began with a segment in Pratt Park. The steel bridges with wood decking are part of Phase 3 of the project. One bridge will cross a ravine to connect the existing asphalt trail in Pratt Park to the piece in Brooks Park that is under construction. The second bridge will be over a ravine in the park. The installation of the bridges will depend on the weather and if the soil is dry enough.

The Board of Supervisors broke ground in Brooks Park in September. Construction is expected to be complete in February.

The trail will take years to complete, but eventually the Heritage Loop will connect Belmont, the historic Falmouth home and studio of artist Gari Melchers, to George Washington’s boyhood home, Ferry Farm off State Route 3. The trail will pass other historic sites in southern Stafford along the way. Improvements for pedestrian safety are also planned in the Falmouth area as part of the project.

Here’s the story I wrote in October about the trail.

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